Season Preview: Glenelg Country have made themselves at home in the IAAM A Conference

The Glenelg Country girls lacrosse team made their presence known in 2017 when the Dragons moved up from the IAAM B to the A conference.

Some people weren’t sure if the Dragons would do well in their first season against teams with depth and great starting talent. But head coach, Paige Walton’s team was not going to lay down and be pushed around. No, the Dragons walked right in to the conference and earned respect by beating teams such as John Carroll, Roland Park in overtime, and Bryn Mawr.

And yes the Dragons weren’t able to beat top ranked McDonogh, but Glenelg Country sure gave them a game, especially in the conference semifinals. GCS only lost by five goals that day.

Alyssa Arnold and Julia Sheehan were key pieces in the Dragons success in their first year in the A conference. Now both have graduated and are now doing quite well on the collegiate level. But again GCS has had solid depth and they know how to win. Before moving up, the Dragons won the B conference title two years in a row.

And a new group of seniors will lead the way for GCS. But they’re still going to have reliable talent from the underclass.

Just this past week Glenelg Country made some headlines by upsetting Notre Dame Prep, 10–9. The Blazers may easily have the largest team in the country with 42 girls on the varsity roster. Beating NDP is a huge feat by the Dragons. It’s now safe to say that GCS belongs at this level and will be a favorite to play for the conference title this year.

Key Returners:

Hannah Glaros; M; Sr. Shay Ahearn-M; Jr.. Bobby Haney- Sr Att, Sarah Ayer; M; Sr. Lindsey Marshall; Mid Soph

Outlook:

“GCS only lost 2 Seniors to graduation but they were a big part of our offense. Julia Sheehan and Alyssa Arnold were 4 year starting attackers. Replacing their roles and points will be a challenge. We return a really strong midfield which should be the strength of our team. We are an older and more mature team than we were last year and have returning starters and leaders at every position We will need to be better on the defensive end to really compete with the top teams in the A conference.” Coach Brian Reese

Our out of Conference games include:

Mt. Hebron

Gerstell

Vero Beach (FL)

American Heritage (FL)

Lassiter (GA)

Hill Academy