By Jackson O’Keefe

2023 was a year of adjustment for the boys varsity lacrosse Cougars after longtime head coach and now Athletic Director Andrew Stanley passed the head coaching job on to Zack Schroeder, who was also an Assistant Athletic Director until earlier this year. Stanley had coached many Collegiate students from the time they began lacrosse at young ages, including in the Geronimo Lacrosse program, all the way through their high school careers. 

Last year’s team ended the regular season with an 11-9 record and a commanding 14-10 victory in the opening-round playoff against state rival St. Anne’s Belfield. The season ended with a tragic 10-6 loss to the 2023 State Champions St. Paul VI. 

Jackson O’Keefe getting ready to dodge. Photo credit: Maggie Bowman.

However, this year looks to be something special for the Cougars, who lead the state with eight players with commitments to play at the NCAA level, seven of them being Division I. Captains Warner Lewis ‘24 (Virginia Military Institute) and Randolph Campbell (‘24) (Providence College) hope to lead the team to a state championship year. When asked about expectations for the upcoming season, Lewis said, “The expectation this season is that we will be the most feared team in the state, no matter what it takes to get there. We’ve got tons of guys who are working out several times a day, and there is a common goal between the entire team: a state championship ring.” With an offense that retains all the starters from the year prior, and five of those six being committed to playing lacrosse at the college level, the expectation is to be the most feared offensive unit in the state.

Upperclassmen leaders who have been on the team for many years recognize the opportunity at hand this year and are working to make dreams come true. Practices can officially start on February 15, and Lewis said, “In the off-season, we got strength and conditioning five times a week, typically paring it with another lift, required shooting workouts, captain practices for both the offense and the defense.” Senior attackman and Randolph-Macon College commit Fitz Stanley (‘24) is excited about the upcoming season, despite the departure of many great players from last season, such as UVA defenseman Eli Petty (‘23). “After last season ended, we lost some great leaders with lots of experience and leadership on both sides of the ball. But many great players are returning and recruited to play at high-level schools, D1 and D3. There are also many younger guys with amazing talent who are coming up and returning as well. We also have two returning captains who will lead us in the right direction this season.”

On defense, the Cougars have great new talent coming and are working towards gaining a sense of togetherness. Junior defensive leader and United States Military Academy commit Adam Sulanke (‘25) spoke about expectations for the defense in the upcoming season. “We have a lot of new varsity guys, so we need to take this off-season to build the chemistry and help our young guys get comfortable playing on varsity. We have four returners from our starting defense, including goalie John Seevers (‘25) (University of Denver commit), so we expect all those guys to fill in and take the leadership roles we need to succeed. We have a great group of guys and high expectations for this upcoming season.” 

Eli Petty (’23) on face-off wing. Photo courtesy of Eli Petty.

With the amount of talent the Cougars have, Charlie Miller (‘24) (Bucknell University) said, “Being on the team for four years, this is the best chance we’ve had for a state championship and Prep League title… We hope to play more like a team than a group of individuals.” Campbell said, “We want to try and focus on building a better connection with each other so we can succeed at the highest level and support each other through each step of the season.”

The Cougars open the season with a scrimmage against St. Mary’s Ryken on March 5 but see their first exciting test of the season on March 15, when the St. Paul VI Panthers travel down to Richmond for a 2023 VISAA playoff rematch. The Cougars are fortunate enough to have their most anticipated games of the season on their home Grover Jones field. Here is the 2024 schedule for the Cougars:

• 3/5/24 Scrimmage vs St. Mary’s Ryken (MD)
• 3/7/24 Scrimmage vs Midlothian
• 3/7/24 – 3/12/24 Spring Break
• 3/13/24 @ Deep Ru
• 3/15/24 vs. PVI
• 3/19/24 vs. Benedictine
• 3/22/24 TBD
• 3/26/24 vs Christchurch
• 3/28/24 @ Trinity Episcopal 
• 4/2/24 vs. SSSAS
• 4/5/24 @ Potomac
• 4/9/24 vs. Episcopal HS
• 4/12/24 vs. Norfolk Academy
• 4/16/24 @ Catholic HS
• 4/19/24 @ FUMA
• 4/23/24 @ Freeman
• 4/26/24 vs Blue Ridge
• 4/30/24 @ Woodberry Forest
• 5/2/24 @ St. Christopher’s
• 5/7/24 vs. STAB

Featured image courtesy of Collegiate School.