Written By: Delaney Knipp

In the last year, the Newport Harbor Girls’ Lacrosse program has seen a lot of change. After last year’s coach, Matt Armstrong, stepped down at the end of the season, it was announced that Brooke Martini had landed the newly available position. This shift in coaching was a bit difficult for the team because of the two coaches’ vastly different coaching styles, but as the team progresses through their season they are starting to adjust to the changes and succeed on the field. The team also had nine seniors graduate with the 2017 class, resulting in a majority of this year’s program as underclassmen and having only 6 returning varsity players. The team faced more recent adversity with the loss of their key senior captain, Adena Rothbard, after she was injured in last week’s game against Tesoro. Despite all of this, the Girls’ Lacrosse team is looking to grow and to prove to Orange County that they can overcome the unexpected challenges in their way.

After 3 consecutive one-point losses, it would have been easy for the team to get down on themselves, but on Tuesday night the girls came out ready to play and defeated the Esperanza Aztecs 15-10. “I think we were all tired of losing,” said sophomore midfielder, Caroline Farley, “we wanted to break the streak and finally get another win.” Farley, a second year varsity player, commented on how it is taking some time for the players and coaches to understand how to work together, but she hopes that a win will help move things in a positive direction. Joining Farley on the midfield lineup this year is freshman, Joelle Rothbard, the younger sister of Adena. “I sometimes forget that Joelle is a freshman,” says Farley, “we have all known her for a long time because of Adena and she fits in really well with the team.” J. Rothbard had four goals in the recent game, two of which were assisted by Farley. The Sailors led 9-4 at halftime, but they didn’t plan on stopping there. By the end of the game, the team score 6 more goals to the total score while the defensive unit was led by junior captain, Elise Skytte, with strong plays by Paris Kozlowski and Zoey Palmquist. The Sailor’s next game is on Friday against Corona del Mar, and the team is excited for a chance to compete in a high stakes game. Farley says, “We are a good team, we just have a few things to work on before we become great.” Good luck girls!