The Evanston boys lacrosse team is looking to improve after a fairly average 2024 campaign that saw the team finish with an 8-11 record and fall to the top-ranked Loyola team in the sectional semi-finals.

“I would consider last season a moderate success. We had some great wins at the back end of the year, and that really showed signs of a bright future,” said Head Coach Rob Fournie.

Most of the team’s success last year was built on a strong defensive backbone that was composed of a mix of graduated seniors and returning starters. Class of 2024 defensive cornerstones Thomas Mentzinger and Colin Swanson will leave a hole in the Kits defensive line, but the team retains star goalie senior Omar Pyror. 

“Every year I’ve coached so far, the defense and goalies have been really strong, keeping us in games. It’s on the offensive side that we have had our struggles,” commented Fournie.

The majority of off-season tactical work has been targeted towards the improvement of offensive players and has been led by Fournie who is heading into his sixth season as head boys varsity lacrosse coach. 

“We have a lot of very strong athletes on our team right now, so we want to make sure that we utilize screens and pick plays as much as possible this season,” detailed Fournie.

These kinds of plays will help start attackers like Ithaca commit Tommy Alloco up their goal tally from last season

The team looks to write off some of their poor performances last season in this year’s games.

“A major goal of mine is to beat Glenbrook and Deerfield, who we suffered shocking losses to last year. I am also looking forward to constant improvement every week in performances,” remarked Fournie.

Increasing support at games is another major goal of the team. They plan to put a greater emphasis on using social media to drive up attendances. Their first game is at Lake Forest on March 17th.