Panther boys lacrosse has went on a series of dominant wins to begin the season. This past Tuesday, they faced off against the Mount de Sales Cavaliers. The Panthers took control of the game and never looked back. The game ended with a 20-1 blowout win for the Panthers. Games like this one have given the team the opportunity to improve themselves for tougher competition.

All throughout the early season, boys’ lacrosse has played proficiently, scoring 16.3 goals per game, and allowing 3.83 goals per game. They have started the season undefeated (6-0, 1-0). The question is if this success will translate to the tougher teams Starr’s Mill will face.

“We’re gonna face much tougher opponents. No disrespect to Mount de Sales, but we’ve gotta learn how to play where we don’t make mistakes,” head coach Jeff Schmidlkofer said. “[Improving is] just a long process with 15-18 year-olds and sometimes you’re gonna get up to play and sometimes you’re not, so you gotta play good when you’re not up to play.”

Every game the Panthers have been able to dominate on faceoffs. In their game against Mount de Sales, they won every single face off. Seniors Brett Berkey and Garrett Meunick combined for a total of 18 faceoff wins over the Cavaliers.

Through the early season, the Panther offense has been dynamic. In five of their six wins, they have won by more than five goals. Watching their game against Mount de Sales, they successfully stayed deep within Cavalier territory all game long. Rarely did Mount de Sales have the ball and do anything with it.

“It doesn’t really matter about the stats,” junior Luke Rusterucci said. “It’s [about] getting out there, working on our stuff, polishing some stuff out there, just making sure we’re ready for when we face some of the tougher teams in our schedule.”

Most of the teams that Starr’s Mill has played have not been on par with Panther lacrosse, including Mount de Sales. Despite this, the team sees this as a great opportunity to refine their abilities.

They have been able to master their plays in order to get themselves battle ready. On top of that, a variety of players, including JV, have had the opportunity to play in games for experience. This has given Starr’s Mill the ability to practice and get their skills ready for the more difficult teams on their schedule.

“Tonight we just wanted to get some of our plays in,” junior captain Addison Long said. “[Mount de Sales is] a weaker program so we wanted to get our set plays in, practice those. A game like this is better than practice so we just gotta get our plays in and do what we need to do.”

Historically, Starr’s Mill has had trouble finding good competition in its area. Coach Schmidlkofer has made a schedule in order to battle test his team and make them better. With everything the Panthers have going for them, fans should keep an eye on this team.

With being reliable on faceoffs, having a zealous offense, and controlling the game as all seen against Mount de Sales, Starr’s Mill clearly has it takes to make something successful occur. As the team goes deeper into the season, Panther nation will see how all the work Panther lacrosse is putting in will pay off as it should.

“When the games, over it’s over, you know? Nobody cares about your record,” Schmidlkofer said. “When we play teams, they’re not thinking about how good we are, they’re thinking about beating us.”

Starr’s Mill boys’ lacrosse will host a big challenge in South Forsyth tonight at 8 p.m.