After being a part of the lacrosse team for the last three years, senior captain Kevin Yoggy said he has a positive attitude going into his final season as a Panther. “We can go as far as we want as long as everyone works hard and buys into what we are doing,” Yoggy said.
One of the aspects second-year head coach Jeff Schmidlkofer said he wants to improve on from last year is playing better as a team and sharing the ball more. “This way the team will be able to execute plays at critical moments during the game,” Schmidlkofer said. He said he believes this will help them win more close games.
Last year six of 19 games were decided by three or fewer points. The Panthers were able to win in four of them and lost the rest.
Another difference is an improved offense and defense because of the experienced players who are returning, Yoggy said.
“On offense, we will be running an open set,” Schmidlkofer said. “This allows us to make diagonal passes and take advantage of our speed. On defense, we will be looking at seniors Austin Berkey, Jon Pilato, and junior Trey Wall to make big stops,” Schmidlkofer said.
Yoggy and junior Marco Amalfitano both made the 2012 Georgia All-State team, Schmidlkofer said. This team is chosen by the High School Coaches Council, which is a local chapter of U.S. Lacrosse. Selections are based on players’ performances during the season.
Amalfitano was chosen because he won 70 percent of his faceoffs last year, which was a major part of the offense, Schmidlkofer said. In a tournament in Jacksonville, Fla., however, Amalfitano broke his hand and will be unable to play for five weeks. Junior Joe Cearbaugh will fill Amalfitano’s position until he returns.
Other players to look out for this season are junior Austin Glang on the attack and Nick Gossner in the goal.
“I believe we will have good chemistry,” senior captain Grant Aasen said. “This will hopefully help us reach the playoffs again this season.” Last season the Panthers made it to the first round of the playoffs but lost to Decatur High School.
The boys’ varsity will face a tougher schedule this spring because it will play higher-caliber teams, Schmidlkofer said. “Most of these teams are from the northside of Atlanta where lacrosse is really taking off,” he said. Some of these bigger schools are Decatur, Holy Innocents (Class AAAAA), and Whitefield Academy (Class AAAAAA).
To keep his players focused, Schmidlkofer said he reminds them at the end of each practice that past success does not guarantee future success. This will be fresh in his players’ minds as they open their season tonight at home at 5:30 p.m. against East Coweta in Panther Stadium.