Over the past three seasons, Elder Lacrosse has experienced great success. However, success has not always been the case, foregoing the decade they spent in the dumpster. Some struggles the lacrosse program dealt with recently include playing as a team and finding good work ethics in high quality players. Yet, with Coach Timothy Gruber’s new vamped program and the variety of new talent walking through the door, the program’s success seems likely to live on through the 2025 season.
Last year recap
Last season the Panthers finished with a 13-7 record to conclude the season. In total the team broke countless records such as the single season goal record, single season assist record, and single season win record. With numerous records broken, come many victories. However, this wasn’t always the case, as the Panthers struggled to be victorious early in the season.
Elder started off the season with a dominating win against North Central High School out of Indianapolis, Indiana. Following that they completed a tough win against Lexington Catholic, which led to a disappointing two game losing streak to the St. Xavier Bombers and Loveland Tigers. After winning two more games, the Panthers once again went on a losing streak, which included losses from Pickerington Central, Lebanon, and Kings. These upsetting losses set the Panthers at a 4-5 record, with the look of a discouraging season ahead.
Luckily, the Panthers would never accept defeat, and the lax boys out of Price Hill went on a eight game winning streak to advance their record to 12-5. With the Panthers hot, the looks of good playoff seeding seemed almost inevitable. After a loss to GCL rival Moeller, the Panthers stepped into the playoffs with 12-6 mark. Their first playoff game ended in redemption against the Loveland Tigers, whom they had lost to earlier in the season. Ultimately, the Panthers fell to the state favorite, Mason Comets, to end their record-setting season.
High Hopes
After last season, the Panthers have higher hopes than ever. This upcoming season Elder was given the most difficult schedule ever, with matchups against Moeller, St. Xavier, Mariemont, Springboro, and Thomas Worthington. The Panthers are looking forward to these upcoming matchups and are ready to face the challenges ahead of them.
Senior midfielder George Sacay spoke upon the season, “I believe we’ve got a lot of talent this year and can make a good run.” He added, “We have a good mix of veteran talent, and young stars on our roster this year.”
Last, season Elder graduated probably their best class of lacrosse players ever. That roster included players such as David Neville ’24, Evan Meier ‘24, Bo Hoffmeier ‘24, EJ Willig ‘24, Max Stallmeyer ‘24, and several other difference making players. So, because of this almost complete change in roster, people can most likely expect the Panthers to be changing up the way they play to accommodate those losses.
Junior defender Eli Broering said, “This season will be a lot of fun, I can see ourselves making a good run in the playoffs, and hopefully beating our win record last season.” Broering’s confidence is exactly what the Panthers want to hear this season.
The lacrosse team begins practice in mid February, and has no plans of slowing down after that. With that said, expect a lot of excitement and fast paced action coming from the Elder lax boys this season.
