Fox Lane girls lacrosse seniors are hungry for a big finish

Fox Lane captains (left to right) Maddie Barrett, Sophie Abt, Sophia Bueti and Zoe Stonecipher, are excited for their senior season with the Foxes. JIM MACLEAN PHOTOS

Junior Cora Moore has committed to play lacrosse in college at Jacksonville.

Coach Jaime Williams and the Foxes have high hopes for a big year.

By JIM MACLEAN

There are a lot of familiar faces on the roster for the Fox Lane varsity girls lacrosse team, veterans with several years of experience, with just about everybody back led by a strong senior class that knows this is their last chance to make a statement and finish up a great career on a high note.

Last year was a good one for the Foxes, finishing at 13-4 overall, but it ended on a sour note with a loss to rival Horace Greeley in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Class B playoffs. This year they want to rewrite the ending.

Five senior captains will lead the way with several years of varsity experience. Sophia Bueti and Zoe Stonecipher have been on varsity since eighth grade together, and both of them were captains last year as juniors. They know this is their year and their last chance to make it special, and they know how hard the team has been working to get ready for this season.

“We’re hungry, we only lost two seniors from last year, everyone else is back and we put in a lot of work,” explained Bueti. “This is our last year together and we’re trying to make the most of it and see how far we can go. Last year we were a little disappointed, this year we have a lot of talent and we’re very hungry.”

Having Stonecipher back to lead the offense is a good place to start. This is her third year as a captain, her fourth year as a starter and she continues to move up the all-time scoring list in Fox Lane history. Stonecipher has committed to play Division 1 collegiate lacrosse at Stony Brook University next year, one of the top 20 teams in the nation, but right now she is focused on her final season at Fox Lane.

“We’ve been together since kindergarten, spent a lot of time together and we’re really close,” Stonecipher said of her team. “We’ve been building this team since youth leagues, pretty much the same team growing up together and this our final year to see what we can do. Our entire starting lineup is very skilled and we should have a great season.”

Sophie Abt was also a captain last year, and she returns as another senior veteran with plenty of years of varsity experience. Abt will be one of the returning starters on the defensive end of the field. She earned All-Section honors last year for the Foxes.

Seniors Amanda Griffin and Maddie Barrett are two more returning starters that have been named as captains this year. Griffin is a returning starter on defense, and Barrett is a returning starter on attack, both of them adding to the leadership of a strong senior class on a talented team with a lot of experience.

In addition to the five senior captains, two juniors return after earning All-Section honors last year. Michaela Kaltsas earned first team All-Section honors on attack as a sophomore and she is back for her third-year in the starting lineup. Cora Moore earned All-Section honors as a midfielder and she has committed to play collegiate lacrosse at Jacksonville.

Sophomore goalie Sara Renz is another returning starter for the Foxes, back for her third year on varsity.

It all adds up to a team with high expectations, and Fox Lane coach Jaime Williams feels his team is ready for the challenge. Williams took over four years ago, so he knows what this senior class has meant to the program and what they are capable of doing on the field. The road will be tough with teams like Greeley, Yorktown and Harrison competing for the Class B crown, but don’t count out the hungry Foxes.

“We bring back our whole offense, midfield, our goalie is back, we’re looking good as long as we stay healthy,” Williams said. “Zoe is huge for us, her talent and leadership, a captain since sophomore year, she leads by example. Bueti plays fierce, she works hard and gives everything. Kaltsas is super athletic, very fast, we moved her from attack to middie to use her speed. Moore is solid on draws and her skills are so strong at midfield. Renz has been solid on varsity in goal. We have a lot of multi-sport athletes, 17 players returning from last year, with our senior veterans leading the way. They’ve been working hard all off season and they’re eager to get back to the playoffs.”