New Rising Sun boys lacrosse coach Chris King doesn't like to use the word "rebuilding" when describing his team. He prefers to say "transition". The Tigers are coming off the most successful season in school history. Rising Sun defeated rival North East in the regular season, posted an historic triumph over C. Milton Wright in the playoffs and advanced to the region semifinals where they were ousted by North Harford. Rising Sun, which lost half of its starters to graduation, were hit hardest on defense with the loss of goalie Taylor Saubier and close defensemen Brandon Aro and Kyle Lammey. The Tigers are most experienced on attack with the return of leading scorer Brad Alexander. Fellow juniors Connor Burkhardt, a starter last season, and Wyatt Griffith will help out. Ryan Yashinskie and Kalman Szkalak are vying for playing time. Returners Tyler Lyness and faceoff specialist Randy Rash will help lead the midfield. Jordan Edwards moves from attack to midfield. Austin Philistine and Phil Hurm both saw some action on varsity last year. Steven Szkalak is expected to contribute. Long stick middie Wyatt Kennedy will be a key cog for the Tigers. "Wyatt is one of the best all-around players we have," King said. "We'll be counting on him. He's the brains of the defense and like having a coach on the field." Senior Bryan Butler is the lone returning starter at close defense. Feshman Ethan Greene and sophomore Jacob Gehron have earned the other two starting spots. "I wasn't expecting to start Ethan and Jacob," King said. "But when practice starts you see the guys who have put the hard work in. They are fundamentally-sound." Bobby Pentalogous, Clinton Miller, Alex Miller, and Ben Curran are part of the equation. "We have depth on defense but we're inexperienced," King said. "I feel good about the group." Noah Jones, who saw some action in a reserve role last season, takes over in the cage. "He's been working at his craft for a long time," King said. "I have confidence in him. It's for real now but I have confidence he'll stand up and do the job for us." Promising freshman goalie Garrett Jolley is competing for playing time. "It's definitely a transition year," King said. "We lost half of our starters and have new players on defense and in the midfield. But no one cares about that. You still have to win games." King doesn't shy away from the expectations brought on by last season's success. "You always want to go one step further," he said. "That's going to be a challenge, but I'm not afraid of a challenge and I don't think these guys are either." Comments are closed.
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