Over spring break the Girls Lacrosse Varsity team traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete against teams from all over the country. The team won the state championship last season and placed #20 in the national rankings for public schools against every other public school in the country. After losing many seniors that led the team last season, there were some big shoes to fill. This season the team is being led by Seniors, Corinna Hilmas, Madeline Pohmer, Carrie Mohler, and Junior, Megan Benton who are all their captains for this season. In Florida, the team played a total of 3 games and only lost one. They played teams with a vast range of skill but did their best to compete during all 3.
Freshman, Mary Tate, plays for both Varsity and Junior Varsity. She got the chance to travel with the team to Florida this year. Tate says, “It was a great experience getting to go with the team, we really felt like part of a family and it really brought everyone closer.”
The team started conditioning and practicing stick skills in early February and has been practicing and conditioning since. According to players on the team, even before they started conditioning they had a summer league where they practiced and ran everyday. The team has 3 running tests they do at the beginning of the season to help measure their capabilities and improve their stamina. Aside from this conditioning they also have ‘run club’ where they run before practice for a set amount of time or distance. They continuously work and condition to better themselves for the rest of their season.
“We are one of the best conditioned teams in the state, and always trying to improve”
While in Florida the team played a total of 3 games and finished with a 2-1 record. After the games they had the chance to do some fun activities and explore around the state! While in Florida they mostly stayed together as a team in order to stay stuff and build team connections.
Eliina Hilmas, Freshman, said, “It’s like a team of big sisters.”
Hilmas, who actually has a sister on the team (Corrinna, Senior), talks about how the environment and support from the older girls is what makes this team truly special and so much like a family which is what they strive to be like as a program. With 2 freshmen on the team and multiple sophomores it can be hard to adjust to such a high level of play and girls much older than you. But according to Mary and Eliina they had no struggle adapting thanks to the upperclassmen.
Hilmas said, “The team’s bond is amazing.”
While they definitely had a great time on their trip they also worked very hard. During their first game against Manatee they faced some adversity but rose above. Manatee is from Bradenton Florida, and won the district title in their area in 2023 and 2024. Liberty started off a little slow as this was their first official game of the season and they were still working on team chemistry while Manatee was already halfway through their season. By halftime the score was 4-8 with Manatee ahead and they had some work to do. After the half they came back much stronger, working as a team, and finished with a score of 11-10, Liberty.
Hilmas said, “I think at first we struggled with how fast they were playing, quick sticks, fast shots, and we just couldn’t get momentum.”
Following that game they played Sarasota Riverview High School and finished with a score of 21-4, liberty. Then they played IMG Academy, a private athletic prep school based in Orlando where the tournament took place and sadly lost with a score of 8-15, IMG. Players said the one game they lost they feel like was the only game they were the underdog and hope to come out on top the next time they face adversity like this. After their results last season, and the upcoming players the future of Liberty Girls Lacrosse is bright.
Hilmas and Tate both said, “We are so excited for the season and we’re excited to get better, win games and win the championship at the end of this season.”