O’Fallon girls fired up for new season
Since its inception as an interscholastic sport at O’Fallon Township High School (OTHS), the girls lacrosse team has made consistent and positive strides to achieve parity with established programs in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Although, initially, a difficult proposition, the Lady Panthers have improved in both skill level and competitive strength in each succeeding campaign, culminating in their arrival as a force last spring when they finished the season with a 10-5 record — a mark that included several victories over teams ranked among Missouri’s top 10.
The Lady Panthers’ crowning achievement came in a victory over St. Joseph’s Academy, the eventual 2015 Missouri state champion — the first OTHS victory after seven frustrating seasons.
The win was a benchmark and sets the stage for the Lady Panthers’ 2016 season — one that the coaching staff and the squad view as a continuation of success on the playing field.
“The girls are all fired up to get the season started,” said head coach Rob Garrison, who begins his third year at the helm and eighth season as a member of the OTHS coaching staff.
“The only negative to the start of this year is that we lost our ‘franchise’ player, Jordan Pate, who averaged four goals per game for us last year. Someone of her ability is irreplaceable; however, the other eleven starters return this year, giving us a wealth of experience and confidence that we can compete against anyone.”
Past successes have been predicated on tenacious defense, and Garrison expects that his charges will continue that tradition this spring.
The OTHS defensive unit will depend on a trio of returning players who were the backbone of last spring’s surge, Saran Khalid, Annie Roberts and Becca Cowin – all juniors.
At the back of the defense will be returning varsity goalkeeper Cameron Harbour. Only a sophomore, Harbour already has a full varsity season under her belt.
“We feel very confident in our defense,” Garrison said. “Cameron [Harbour] has matured in her role as our goalkeeper. She did an exceptional job handling the pressure as a freshman and should be much more comfortable in the crease this spring. Having our trio of veteran defenders in front of the goal will also be a big factor in shutting down opponents’ offense. We have always stressed a ‘defense first’ philosophy, and our girls have bought into the concept.”
Solid defense will be mirrored by an equally experienced and effective offense.
Despite losing Jordan Pate’s four goals per game via graduation, the Lady Panthers should still have plenty of firepower.
Four-year starter Sarah Padilla promises to be one of the big guns for O’Fallon after averaging three goals per game last spring. She will be flanked by senior midfielder Kayla Smith, another four-year starter and a player that Garrison considers the heart and soul of the team.
Other top scorers who have already proved their effectiveness include juniors Taylor Grout, Jenn Greene and Abby Weidner.
“Smith and Padilla give us a lethal one-two offensive punch,” Garrison said. “They have gained experience and both are excellent athletes. We expect them to be team leaders because of their experience and ability. Flexibility will be a key to our offensive success as we have the luxury of putting a number of combinations on the field without a discernable drop in effectiveness.”
Despite all of the positive vibes coming out of the Lady Panther pre-season camp, the OTHS girls will be challenged throughout the season due to an upgrade in their schedule, which was ranked as the third toughest in the St. Louis area in 2015.
Although the regular season schedule remains nearly the same, the OTHS squad will head to Chicago during the campaign to compete in the Naperville North Invitational, one of the premier lacrosse tournaments in the state.
“We probably will be playing a top ten team every game in Naperville,” Garrison said. “We asked our team captains if they would rather return to the Kansas City tournament we have played in the last several years or go to Chicago. It was unanimous; they all wanted to head north.”
Armed with experience and enthusiasm, the OTHS girls’ squad will open their 2016 season Wednesday, March 23, with a home game against Marquette High School.
The following Tuesday, they will travel to Lafayette High School for any early litmus test as to their relative strength since the Missouri school has been ranked as one of the top three teams in the state in pre-season polls.
This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 3:30 AM with the headline "O’Fallon girls fired up for new season."