Last year, the John Jay women’s lacrosse team won the section and advanced to the state semi finals. They return all but two starters this year and are looking to have a season as successful as the last. The team is worried about fulfilling everyone’s expectations after such a strong season last year, but it no surprise that the Indians are off to an incredible start.
    The reason for their fantastic start is because, they returned all but two of their starters and have a very deep bench. The Indians return senior draw specialist and All American Cara O’Reilly who is absolutely dominant on the draw. Another returning senior is Jenna Giardina who received All Section last season and is a player who dominates every aspect of the field, from the defensive to the offensive sides of the field. 
With the help of the returning starting power and the depth of the bench the Indians were able able to beat North Salem 18-3, last Monday. Their more impressive win was against a top Long Island team Sachem North High School, last Saturday. Sachem’s lacrosse squad is filled with aggressive powerful lacrosse players which made John Jay’s win so impressive.
This win was eye-opening to teams all across the state because if the Indians can beat teams from Long Island (or Strong Island, as people in the lacrosse world refer to it) pretty handedly, there is no saying who will be able to stop them. The game against Sachem was not a easy win, it was aggressive, quick and fast paced.
The game opened up with a quick goal by sophomore Lily Pries who buried one into the back of the cage. The scoring was back and forth between John Jay and Sachem but the Indians came on top with a final score of 12-8.
The goals and assists were balanced throughout the team which shows the amount of scoring threats the Indians have on their roster. The goal scorers for the Indians included,  Charlotte Wilmoth, who led John Jay with three goals and an assist, Melina O’Connor, Mia DiChiara, Jenna Giardina, Caroline Panzer, who all tallied two for the Indians, and Lily Preis, who scored once.
The Indians coming out with the win after a tough opponent so early on in the season will bring huge amounts of confidence to the team, but also put a target on their back as the team to beat in Section 1. They were on top of the preseason Lohud rankings and were still ranked first after the first two weeks. This win will help them build momentum early on, which will hopefully be carried out throughout the season. With a combination of confidence, momentum and a stacked line up all around, the Indians will be difficult to beat.