Editors Note: “Varsity Lacrosse Makes History” by Rebecca Simpkins won second place in the Sports Coverage category at the 2022 OSIE Awards in the United States Organization of Students Editors. Click here to view the award.

For three years, seniors on the Pattonville Varsity Lacrosse team have dreamed about the day they would finally get their revenge against Parkway West.

On April 14 at the Parkway West stadium, the pressure was on because the seniors knew it was their last opportunity to beat Parkway West.

Captain’s Charlotte Taylor (12) and Helen Bae (12) were both excited and nervous for the game.

“As a senior, we aren’t playing this team again, so we knew what was on the line!” Taylor said.

Parkway West has barely won over Pattonville in the seniors’ career. Their freshman year, Parkway West defeated them in overtime. They didn’t have the opportunity to play because of COVID their sophomore year, and their junior year Pattonville was up, but in the last two minutes, Parkway West scored two goals to win the game.

The captains didn’t take this game lightly, knowing what was on the line.

To prepare, the team analyzed the games they put on Youtube and, specifically, researched their goalie.

“We also [watched] lots of film against the goalie,” Bae said. “She is an amazing goalie (something we knew from last year). We knew if we wanted to win this game that we would need to figure out her weakness.”

Further than watching the films, it took leadership, stepping to the next level, strategy, communication, and most importantly, teamwork.

“If one person is down, we all are,” Taylor said. “I think everyone impacts the team in their own way, team sports are like that, everyone plays an important role, in order for us to win.”

After the game, Bae felt a sense of relief, because they had finally won, with a score of 9-4.

“It made me so happy because this wasn’t only a win but a true team win where everyone had to work their butts off,” she said. “It was the perfect way to finally get our revenge.”

“The game I think was one of the best games our team had ever played,” Bae added. “A lot of players that usually don’t stand out stepped up to another level and our communication was amazing.”

This past season, the team had two history-making games. Along with beating Parkway West, the team beat Villa Duchesne on May 9 by tying the game in a buzzer-beater and winning in overtime. The final score was 15-14. With one more game to go against Ursuline, the Pirates have a record of 8-5.

The team had never beaten Parkway West or Villa Duchesne since the team was formed back in 2015.

Along with that, players Charlotte Taylor and Helen Bae both made their 100th goal of their careers and Coach David had his 100th win at the Villa Duchesne game.

Going into the state tournament, the team is ranked 9th, the highest that the program has ever been ranked. They will start in the second round, with their first state game on Thursday, May 19.