As winter sports end and the thought of the spring season arises, the Fayetteville-Manlius girls lacrosse team has begun to prepare for the season ahead after facing the adversity of last season. At the end of the 2021 “COVID” season, the Lady Hornets finished 12th in the conference with a record of 4-13. However, with preseason already upon us, the Hornets are already making progress in preparing for the season ahead.

In order to make some changes from last year, the Hornets are going into this season with a new positive mindset. “This season we are just going to take it one game at a time,” said senior Ava Angello. Coming into the season, the team will look quite similar to last year with a good portion of the team coming back as returners.

Instead of looking back on last season as a failure, the Lady Hornets are looking at it as an opportunity for the team to grow together with better chemistry to create more success during the season. Sophomore midfielder Juju Cogliandro said, “Although last season we faced a lot of losses we learned a lot from it and overall it made us a stronger team.”

In order to help put hopes of a more successful season into action, the Lady Hornets are putting in the work individually and collectively to be successful. Every Friday night the team gets together at the YMCA to practice in order to create sharper skills for the season. Outside of these clinics each player is doing their part by staying in shape and conditioning on their own. Cogliandro said, “Individually, watching film from last year has really helped me to see what I can work on for the upcoming season.”

By implementing team culture now in the preseason, the Lady Hornets are creating chemistry that will win them games during the season. Molly McNany, a junior defender further said, “Everyone works hard to create a good dynamic where everyone are friends.” Each player on the team is excited for the season to see the growth from last season and be able to put all the pieces of their practice together. “Having such a close knit team allows us to be even more successful on the field,” said Angello.

Going into the season, the Hornets are preparing for a hard schedule ahead, but nonetheless Cogliandro says the team is encouraged and excited about this season. “I think a lot of people will overlook us, but I’m hopeful this team can prove them wrong.”