Matilda De La Rosa V. (287)

As we enter another year of Lancer sports, the 2025 lacrosse team will be entering their second year with tenth-grade English teacher Ms. Manley as their coach. With an exciting season up ahead, Ms. Manley hopes to build a close connection with the team members on and off the field. As someone who coached club lacrosse for over ten years, she has had a four-year winning streak at Wesleyan University, and received a nomination for the 2020 Jones Award, she has many hopes for this year’s season. Manley shares hopes to “grow the program, make it more competitive and dedicated to developing new players, and establishing chemistry between team members.” 

At the same time, a certain buzz is going around amongst the previous year’s lacrosse players. According to Co-Captain Irene Hong (285), many people are “super hype” for this year’s season. The lacrosse season officially starts in spring with pre-season in the later months of winter. Irene, who played lacrosse throughout middle school and joined Central’s lacrosse team in her sophomore year, is now one of the captains on the team. She looks forward to a successful season with lots of fun and improvement as a player and leader on the team. Irene looks up to Manley and believes she holds a special connection with each member, and is “the cornerstone of our program in terms of spirit, but also discipline.” Irene’s confidence in her coach is further contextualized as “she came in as a fresh face last year, but she related to us very well, and I love the way she coaches and I love what she’s been doing with the team.” The captain also says that she’s confident in the team and excited about the potential from new players coming in. Similar to the coach, she hopes to create a bond with the team, just like the previous years she’s played. Overall, the 2025 lacrosse team has a bright and fun season up ahead!