Lacrosse Preview: La Cañada, St. Francis focusing on further development
La Cañada High junior midfielder Joyce Noh is part of a returning core of players who Coach Kyle Smith will rely on to lead the Spartans lacrosse team.
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Following the departure of several key players to graduation, the La Cañada High girls’ lacrosse team is in a bit of a rebuilding stage.
The Spartans don’t appear to be short on talent and might have the quality players in place to help fill some of the void.
“We graduated a lot of players,” said La Cañada Coach Kyle Smith, whose team finished tied for third with Crescenta Valley in the Pacific League last season. “So, you look to keep bringing in more players who will put in the work.
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“We will have a small returning group and we will rely on them to help the team head in the right direction.”
The Spartans return senior attacker Lauren Lee, junior midfielders Joyce Noh and Ella Quinn and junior midfielder/defender Diane Lee.
“The returning players know how things are run throughout the team,” Smith said. “We are going to rely on them to be mentors to our younger players.
“Right now, it’s just about development. It’s going to be a trial each game.”
St. Francis attacker Evan Swayne runs for a position to pass against Glendale High’s Jesus Chavez on Thursday, March 27, 2014.
On the boys’ side, St. Francis will compete against Harvard-Westlake, Loyola, Crespi and Chaminade in league. Harvard-Westlake won the league title last season.
There’s reason for optimism that the Knights, who didn’t win a league match last season, will improve.
“There’s a lot of leadership,” Watson said. “We have a lot of juniors and seniors and there’s some good chemistry.
“Right now, we’re just looking to see more improvement being made.”
The Golden Knights’ core will be senior attacker Evan Swayne, a reigning all-league pick, senior goalkeeper Michael Guida, junior defender Jim Murphy and junior attacker Hagen Harvey.
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Charles Rich, charles.rich@latimes.com
Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich
