Girls Lacrosse Season Underway
Madison High School’s girls lacrosse spring season officially commenced on April 3, 2023. The team’s prospects and eagerness for the season are palpable.
The dawn of a new girls lacrosse season has arrived at Madison High School, bringing new anticipation among players, coaches, and fans. As the girls lacrosse team takes to the field, they plan to exercise their unwavering determination and prior conditioning. Mae Christos states that the future of Madison girls lacrosse is optimistic, as she believes that athleticism of younger student-athletes is very promising: “I think we have a pretty young team. All the sophomores and juniors are really good.”
The team captains are Gwen Eilender and Rileigh Baggett. Baggett, a current senior defender, is planning on attending Wagner College while participating in Wagner Women’s Lacrosse. Additionally, Eilender, a current senior midfielder, will be attending Elon University while playing for Elon Women’s Lacrosse. Eilender states, “I just plan on playing with my future teammates and I want to major in something sports. I’m not sure yet though–I’m undecided.”
With Baggett and Eilender’s commitments to college, the team is proud to have talented, collegiate players representing them.
The girls lacrosse team is led by experienced coach Kayla Henderson, who took over the program during the 2019 season. According to Tap Into Madison, Henderson stated in 2021, “Taking over the program is an honor, with a successful 2019 season and a program full of talent.”
Key players this year include Gwen Eilender, who led Madison in assists last year with 56 and contributed 39 goals, Gabby Mariani, who led with 47 goals her freshman year, and Rileigh Baggett, who finished with 30 ground balls and 28 forced turnovers last season. Make sure you watch out for these gifted players.
During a scrimmage on April 2, 2023, the girls made some impressive goals, which is hopefully an indicator of upcoming prosperity. Under the leadership of Coach Henderson and the girls’ team captains, the future of the spring season is looking bright.
Success is present both on and off the field, as Charlotte Zimmer, Nicole Bradford, Rileigh Baggett, Mae Christos, and Gwen Eilender all mutually agree that the team is emphatically close to each other. Eilender says her best memories are “just team bonding outside of Lax.” This healthy sense of camaraderie has been instrumental to the team’s success and motivation.
The senior players share a deep bond and mentioned that another one of their favorite memories from the past four years of lacrosse is definitely “the bus rides.” Additionally, on March 28, 2023 the first team dinner was held to kick off the season, just one example of the foundational companionship being built.
As the season progresses, the Madison girls lacrosse team plans to continue working hard and become an even better group of dedicated athletes. Some memorable instances from previous seasons include when Madison reached the Group 2 title game in 2019 and when athlete Sophia Modi was nominated as one of the top girls lacrosse freshmen in the state in 2021.
With the leadership of Eilender, Baggett, Coach Henderson, and the rest of the team, they are poised to achieve great things both on and off the field.