Winning has been the norm for the Hamburg High School girls lacrosse team. The Bulldogs have won six straight Class B championships and 10 of the last 11.
There are some new faces in Hamburg’s lineup, the goals never change.
“It’s just something that I think, it’s been very special,” coach Katy Ryan said. “You can say it’s a standard but it’s also something everyone wants to be a part of. I think a lot of the girls look up to the girls that have come through the program and aspire to do the same thing.”
Hamburg has a young team with five sophomores and a freshman in the starting lineup. But the success has remained. Through eight games, the Bulldogs sit at 6-2 and have their sights set on another title run.
“It’s been a real good season,” Ryan said. “We’re halfway through, which is crazy when you think about all the rain. But I’m excited; this has been a very fun group.”
In the first half of the season, the Bulldogs losses were to Class A powerhouse Lancaster and defending Class A champ Frontier, now in Class B. Hamburg gets another shot at the rival Falcons on Saturday and welcome the challenge.
“We’re excited,” Ryan said. “It’s a great cross-town rivalry. Any time, we play them, we want to play them.”
That will be the second game of the season between the two Hamburg schools – Frontier won the first 12-6 on April 11. A third is a strong possibility in the Class B championship game in what would be a match-up of returning sectional champs.
It may be tougher than usual for the Bulldogs this season with the Falcons dropping down a division. But that doesn’t mean Hamburg will expect anything less on the field.
“We try to set a standard and have an expectation,” Ryan said. “We want to get to the championship game.”
The Bulldogs have had contributions from up and down the roster this season and the sophomore class has stepped in nicely. A pair of 10th graders are at the top of the scoring list as Dana Bacher tied for the team lead in goals with 17 through seven games and classmate
Anjali Silverheels held the team lead in points with 30 (16 goals, 14 assists). Sophomores Bailey Duffy and Tara Geary also added five goals each in that span.
Senior Emma O’Neill also has 17 goals on the season and junior Tori Lettieri has 16. The freshman in the starting lineup is Sydney Gordon and she scored 11 times in the first seven games.
At the back end, senior Jess Graber has been a rock in net.
“I like the mentality, this is a team that doesn’t give up and has a lot of fun playing together,” Ryan said. “As a coach, that’s what you like to see.”
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