“Cards win, cards win,” played over the speaker after SHS lacrosse defeated Roncalli on May 3 for the first time in four years, “The trophy stays in Cardinal possession.”

This southside rivalry has a lot of meaning to the lacrosse teams because each year they fight to keep the coveted trophy around for another year. For the first time since the creation of the award, SHS won, 11-5.

Emotions were high at the end of the game as players rejoiced and parents surrounded them with love. Earlier this year, coach Brian Thomas passed away and many players said this was a game he “looked forward to.” For this reason, it was an especially important and memorable night for everyone involved.

After the junior varsity won 9-5, the team had a lot of momentum moving on to the big game. There was also a lot of hype around the varsity game going into it because many players considered this a huge accomplishment for the season. Assistant coach Garrett Gibson said this energy and attitude had a lot to do with the way the game played out.

“I think the JV game winning really helped us out,” Gibson said, “It got the guys psyched. We practice for it all the time, and Roncalli is definitely the biggest game on the schedule no matter who’s better. It’s just a game that everybody wants to win.”

The team started out strong with senior Ben Janes scoring in the first 2 minutes and by the end of the first quarter the team went up 4-0. At the half, the gap was still strong at 6-2. SHS continued to dominate through the last seconds when they celebrated victory unlike any other time this season.

Sophomore Griffin Thomas led the team in goals with three and sophomore Nick Frank led in assists with three. The defense also stepped up, keeping Roncalli to only five goals. Goalie, sophomore Deven Compton, had six saves throughout the game.

Looking at the end of the season, the team hopes to continue with a winning streak and beat PMHS on May 10. They want to focus on fundamentals and bettering themselves as a team for the future.