New Albany’s new identity producing same old results
Thursday, April 20, 2023
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
New Albany’s Caroline Siegfried defends during a game against Thomas Worthington on April 18. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Natalie Weaver looked around and saw entirely new faces surrounding her in the defensive backfield.
The senior defender was a key player on the New Albany girls lacrosse team, which captured its fifth state championship overall and first in Division I last season.
But after the losing nine players to graduation, including many key players, the Eagles look a little bit different this year.
“It’s been a change,” Weaver said. “But sometimes change is good. We have really come a long way and are just starting to figure out everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. I think we’re all just really excited to see what this defense can do this season.”
New Albany, which was 7-2 overall and 3-0 in the OCC-Ohio Division and has won three consecutive games after a 16-15 overtime win over Upper Arlington on April 20.
The Eagles, ranked sixth in the state as of April 20 according to LaxNumbers.com, have already matched the number of losses all of last season when they finished 21-2 after defeating the Golden Bears 13-12 in overtime in the state title game. Junior midfielder Maddy Paz scored the game-winner in both meetings.
The expectations haven’t changed for coach Elaina Enich and the Eagles.
“It’s definitely not a rebuilding year – it’s a reloading year, for sure,” Enich said. “The kids are really buying into that. (We’ve watched) them continue to grow and believe and watching that confidence grow, knowing they can do it too.”
Senior Laura Mason and junior Megan Finn and sophomore Caroline Siegfried along with sophomore goalie Roxy Gravlin anchor a defense that’s allowed 7.5 goals per game over the first nine games.
“We really know that when it matters, we’ll be ready,” Weaver said. “Ever since I’ve been around, we’ve never had to rebuild, we’ve just had to adjust. (We’ve) been working on the little things, like catching and throwing and communication skills. I think the little things is what’s really bringing us together.”
New Albany’s Maddy Paz (center) tries to split two Thomas Worthington defenders in the Eagles’ 13-8 loss at home to the Cardinals on April 13. Photo: Michael Rich
The Eagles were averaging 13.9 goals per game through their first nine games, led by Paz, senior Cassidy Clapham junior and Ellie McClelland.
“It’s definitely been a little bit different and that’s something we talk about a lot – losing so many talented people,” Clapham said. “Now, we need to relearn how to work with each other because that’s one of the most important things in lacrosse and one of the most important things in our program.”
McClelland leads with 33 goals, Paz has 30 goals and Clapham has 20 goals in the first nine games. McClelland and Paz split the draw with McClelland tallying 46 controls and Paz 38.
“Coming into this season, we knew our goal was to be back-to-back state champions,” McClelland said. “We worked especially hard in the weight room and had a lot of upperclassmen-led open nets and conditioning to get us ready for the season.”
The Eagles lost to Thomas Worthington 13-8 on April 13. The Cardinals were the top-ranked team in the state in Division I at the time.
But they came back the following game and defeated Hinsdale Central, ranked third in the Illinois state poll as of April 20, 10-8 on April 15 and followed with a 19-2 win over Gahanna in league play on April 20.
“(Thomas is) a great team, for sure,” McClelland said. “But we learned that we need to be dictating how we play and not allow the other team to dictate how we play. We were able to pull out a big win (against Hinsdale on April 15), just focusing on what we can control.”