The Renegades will try to defend their 2016 South Jersey Group IV title with a combination of experienced midfielders and young attackers and defenders.
Defending South Jersey Group IV champion Shawnee High School girls lacrosse graduated a slew of all-conference attackers and defenders from last season’s team. However, the expectations for this year’s team are higher than ever.
Despite having a lot of youth on both offense and defense, head coach Julie McGrory said the Renegades expect to be one of South Jersey’s top teams again in 2017.
“The expectation level is still there,” McGrory said. “We never drop the expectation level, which is awesome. These girls, just working with them, they want the high expectation level.”
The core of Shawnee’s 2017 team will be in the midfield, where seniors Molly Baechler and Kate McLoughlin and junior Erica Barr all return from last year’s 20-win squad. The returning players understand how valuable their experience will be to the team this year and plan to be leaders both on and off the field.
“I think the seniors on our team last year were excellent leaders,” Baechler said. “They really set a great example for myself. Going through last year, we learned so much.”
Baechler, McLoughlin and Barr have the ability to offer outstanding production both offensively and defensively. The trio combined for 158 goals in 2016, and McGrory said their leadership has helped the development of the younger girls in the early days of practice.
Baechler said one of her jobs this season is to get the new players acclimated to the high level of play and expectations.
“It’s our job to show everything to the younger girls,” she said.
Barr said she has been impressed with the progress many of the younger players have made in the preseason.
“Once these younger girls really step in, which they’ve been doing a great job of so far, we know we’re only going to get better,” she said.
Shawnee will be challenged often this season. The Renegades have scheduled a number of high quality non-conference opponents this season. Shawnee will play one of the top teams in the Cape-Atlantic League, Ocean City High School, a 2016 North Jersey sectional finalist, Mountain Lakes High School, and perennial powerhouse Moorestown High School. All three games will take place during the first month of the season.
“To be the best you have to play the best, so I think having those challenging games on our schedule is only going to make us better in the long run,” Baechler said.
On top of the tough non-conference games, the Renegades recognize they have a target on their backs as the defending South Jersey Group IV champions.
“Last year, it was kind of a cool feeling because we were the underdogs,” Barr said. “But this year we realize we’re not the underdogs anymore. It brings a whole other aspect to the game.”
Baechler expects the team to succeed despite the high expectations.
“It should inspire us,” Baechler said. “It should bring us together.”
McGrory said a few players, such as defender Erin Wicker, have stood out during the early days of preseason and have her confident the Renegades will be competitive again in 2017. Barr said while this year’s team may be young, she expects them to be just as good as last year’s.
“We’re not looking at this season as a drop off at all,” Barr said. “We want to continue where we left off last year and make it farther than last year.”
