As students wrapped up their last few days in the 2023-2024 school year amidst final exams and summer anticipation, the boys Varsity Lacrosse team was determined to finish what they had started.

On June 1, the Scouts secured the State Championship game against Glenbard West with a 4-1 victory. 

The “Why Not Us?” motto that emerged from the team’s social media accounts stemmed from the assumption that private schools were favored to win. Lake Forest proved that it was wrong to count them out, and the doubt only pushed their work ethic to new heights.

Junior Danny Van Camp said that going into games with that “confidence” was the best way to do it. 

“We were always grinding, and we were always pushing for one more day,” Van Camp said. “People would rule us out, so we just kept thinking, ‘Why aren’t we the ones that can win State?’”

The victorious feeling that came with winning State is one that the players will never forget. 2024 Senior Captain Graham Garrigan described the feeling of winning state as “very joyful” and one that “meant a lot” since it was the first time in over 20 years they won the Championship, an accomplishment they’ve only achieved three times before. 

The team’s fierce mindset throughout the season was a vital component of their State series run, but the games leading up to the playoffs, called the Gauntlet, weren’t their best. The Scouts lost to New Trier 3-6 in their last regular season game, one of their three losses that season. However, this loss only fired the team up to bring their A-game to the following games in order to achieve their goal of winning the State Championship.

“We played a lot of good teams throughout the season, which made us better off in the end,” Van Camp said. “We thought that the best time is right now to win a state championship, so every game just kind of stacked on each other.”

Van Camp, along with five other players on the team’s roster, is committed to continuing his lacrosse career at the collegiate level. The athletic abilities from each player on the team demonstrates a well-rounded group, all determined to achieve their goals for the season.

Bucknell lacrosse commit and Captain Garrigan said that in order to succeed this season in particular, the team had to “buy in” day in and day out.

“It was different this year because we all believed that we could actually win it. A lot of accountability was in place this year,” Garrigan said. 

The four captains, Graham Garrigan, Marty Hippel, Oscar Kokke, and Augie Silver, met with the coaches following the New Trier loss to discuss the game plan for the playoffs. Hippel said they decided that they needed to “lock in” and “have more serious practices” which led to more game planning and watching film than normal.  

Head Coach David Hone was a key part in gearing the team up for the playoffs. He noted that the most significant preparation focused on “mental durability,” one of the places where the team had fallen short during the regular season.

“We knew the playoff opposition would be highly ranked and therefore we knew we had to keep mental errors to a minimum,” Hone said. “The Scout’s team confidence and chemistry grew stronger as we marched forward in the playoffs to the championship game.”

As the Scouts continued winning games in their bracket and advancing through the series, the main strategy that helped them edge out the other top teams was their innovative defense. Instead of their typical “man-to-man” coverage, they went with a zone-based defense, which surprised their opponents and left the other teams unsure of how to respond.

After defeating rival Loyola Academy’s lacrosse team 7-1 in the Super-Sectional game, the team geared up for their final two games in the State Series. In order to make it to the championship game, they had to win their first matchup against Saint Ignatius College Prep, which they did easily, defeating them 12-3. 

In the championship game against Glenbard West, who was seeded #1 while the Scouts were #2, several key moments altered the game’s trajectory.

Notably, the team had some quick plays down the field for a goal, as well as some slower paced possessions that wore GBW down physically and mentally, which were key. 

The team and fans were confident that the game was over late in the fourth quarter when Coach Hone called a timeout while the Scouts were up 4-1. Not only was the team fired up, Hippel noting the “antsy” and “excited” attitudes in the huddle, but Coach Hone “knew [they] would win the game not just because of the scoreboard, but because [he could] see it in the Scouts’ eyes and their pure adrenaline and excitement of winning it all. This moment captured all the hard work and player buy-in to win State leading up to that moment.”

The high speed energy throughout the duration of the game could be attributed to a great save early on by senior goalie Silver, as well as the energy on the field and the bench. Hone says that these plays “ignited the Scouts” for the remainder of the game, and the execution and confidence continued to be “infectious” for the players and coaches alike. 

When the clock struck zero, the team stormed the field in victory and threw their equipment up into the air in celebration, an act they call the “yard sale.” The fans and family in the stands contributed to the excitement of the victory, a large crowd cheering despite the rain that day.

The joy was more than just a victory for the team; it represented many years of hard work, dedication, and commitment by the Lake Forest lacrosse community. 

This day was one that the team continues to describe as unforgettable, Van Camp mentioning that he felt nothing but “pure happiness” while storming the field. 

Coach Hone is proud of the Scouts’ work this season and is grateful to have sent the senior class of 2024 off with a memory they will never forget.

“This class made an incredible impact and legacy for the program, and really led Scouts the entire way,” Hone said. “For everyone involved – players, coaches, parents, – it was truly a great day and season to be a Scout!”