Eagles girls lacrosse team reflects on TRAC title, season

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

Things are starting to come together for the Clay Eagles.
The girls lacrosse team won the Three Rivers Athletic Conference, easily the highlight of the season while going 14-4 in the process before losing a heartbreaker to Brecksview-Broadview Heights, 8-6, in a Division II district semifinal.
“That was a tough game. We definitely had our chances to pull away,” said Clay coach Jason Allen. “They have a couple really good players on the team that are very fast and definitely know how to get open. We got within one at one point but couldn’t get over the hump.
“(But) this season was magical. My assistant coaches (Dustin Davis and Emily Ashley) and I have been waiting for this season for three years,” Allen said. “The team that was out there this year had experience, determination and heart. The culture of this program has been building each year, and to see it pay off the way it did this year was special. (Winning the TRAC) was something that was at the top of our list this year. We knew we had the talent, and we finally had the experience. The St. Ursula game had been circled for a full year, and they were hyped up for that game before it was even played.”
Some might say lacrosse is a cross between hockey and soccer. It’s played on grass with a goalie, three attackers, three midfielders and three defenders. The players must wear goggles and a mouthguard. Goalies wear extra protective equipment.
The field is 110 yards long and 60 yards wide. The goal is six feet tall and six feet wide and is 15 yards from the end of the field.
The primary attackers are Aly Walendzak, Kaylynn Yanez, Emma Kalmbach and Hannah Karrick; Lexi Huntermark, Kendra Stevens and Lainey Davis are the primary midfielders and Grace Toth, Hadlee Peterson, Cheyenne Tabler and Sydney Strausbourg are the primary defenders.
Sydney Witek is the starting goalie.
“Aly played club lacrosse over the summer, and last year was her first year. She improved a lot, and it’s definitely shown this year. She’s being recruited (by colleges),” said Allen. “She reads the field a lot better than she did last year. With the different goal scorers, we’re not always counting on her to score every time. We can rely on the team, not just one or two individuals.
“Sydney is a good goalie, she went to a lot of goalie camps. She’s played club lacrosse for three years and is one of the better goalies in the Toledo area, getting talked to by a few area colleges as well.”
The biggest wins of the season were a 9-2 win over Notre Dame Academy, a 6-4 victory over Anthony Wayne and a 10-5 triumph over St. Ursula.
In the win over NDA, Walendzak and Huntermark had three goals apiece while Witek made nine saves. The Eagles beat the Lady Generals behind two goals apiece from Walendzak, Stevens and Karrick. Witek made seven saves as Clay opened up a 5-0 lead after one period before holding off AW. The Eagles jumped ahead 7-2 after one period in the win over the Arrows, and Walendzak had five goals and Stevens chipped in with three.
The top scorers were Walendzak, Stevens and Huntermark; the leaders in assists were Walendzak, Stevens and Huntermark; Walendzak, Stevens, Huntermark and Lainey Davis led the team in ground balls and Stevens, Huntermark, Davis and Walendzak caused the most turnovers.
There’s good reason to believe that things will only get better for the Eagles.
“Our program is just starting to flourish. The coaching staff and I are currently working on developing youth programs for the City of Oregon for girls to participate in,” said Allen. “Several of the younger players this year and the upperclassman are playing club lacrosse this summer, which will help them elevate their game.
“The biggest thing is, we started our JV program, We had 30 girls; we’re trying to grow that. Team culture is something that is very important to us. The goal is to continue to keep the culture that we have. One of the things I want to work on this summer is I want to look at the club lacrosse program in Oregon for grades three to eight. I’ve got about 10-12 fourth- and fifth-graders, and I want to reach out and get more kids. My camps in the summer, the numbers are going up. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
There has been a prevailing thinking that lacrosse is only for privileged kids. But is that true?
“This is definitely a myth. I have seen public-school programs not just in Ohio but in other states play this wonderful game of lacrosse with little to no funding from their schools,” said Allen. “(Lacrosse) took over soccer as the world’s fastest-growing sport. There are several grant programs out there that will help schools get Lacrosse started.
“I think COVID hurt a lot of things. I think schools think lacrosse is an expensive sport, and it’s not. There are grants for boys and girls teams. I think it’s just a part of the money process,” Allen said.
He said he hopes the game will increase in popularity in Northwest Ohio.
“To be honest, the Toledo area is not very strong in girls lacrosse – you can tell by some of our scores. It’s fairly new in the Toledo area; I’ve been coaching since 2006, some schools just don’t want to add it. Without that advancement, it’s going to be tough for us to catch up with Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton. We’re mixed with a lot of teams from the Cleveland area in the playoffs.
“I am getting emails from girls in Genoa, Fremont and Eastwood wondering if they can join us. It’s going to take more and more exposure. It does help that we have a club lacrosse program. Perrysburg has a great youth program. Without that youth program, you’ve also got your other sports – softball, basketball, volleyball, a lot of girls put a lot of time into those sports, they’ve been doing it for a while.”
To attend summer camp, visit payschoolsevents.com/events/details/26645.