On senior night, boys lacrosse defeated Hillsdale 5-3 on May 8 — the first of a three-game win streak needed to secure a playoff berth.

Head coach Ed Hattler said beating the top seed in Division II was especially meaningful this year, considering the difficulties the team has faced.

“We’ve had more adversity this season in terms of injuries,” Hattler said. “We haven’t had one game where we’ve had all of our starters the whole season.”

Although the seniors have been instrumental to the team’s success, Hattler said their overconfidence going into senior night nearly cost them the win.

“The seniors are the backbone of the team — they have been playing for many years here, and we wouldn’t (be) where we are without them,” Hattler said. “But, our seniors did not come into senior night with the best attitude. They were cocky and overconfident (and) that is how you see upsets happen… Still, we showed a lot of grit, fight and ended up (winning).”

Senior Oliver Chancellor said the team has a bad habit of playing haughtily.

“Before the game, we were talking about how we’re all gonna be switching positions in the fourth quarter, and we’re all gonna be messing around,” Chancellor said. “That mindset going into the game is what really hurts us. People weren’t hustling after ground balls. The team wasn’t playing as a team, but as individuals. That could be seen in the result — we should have blown that team out, but we didn’t because of our attitude going into the game, because of our mindset. That’s something we’ve been struggling with because we play down to teams, even though we have the skill to be really, really good.”

With 15 seniors, many of whom have played together since freshman year, the team has a uniquely tight-knit bond. However, Chancellor said their close relationship has also enabled their conceit.

“The fact that there are a lot of friends on the team can lead to people messing around at times and not taking things as seriously because it’s seen as a social event rather than practice,” Chancellor said.

All in all, Chancellor said he is grateful for his team’s camaraderie and the memories it has made.

Chancellor said, “Overall, becoming really close over the last four years has helped the team and made lacrosse a very memorable experience for me.”