Looking at a 2-6 record to begin the spring, it would be easy for one to deduce that the Oak Park and River Forest High School varsity boys lacrosse team is in for a tough season. But head coach Dan Ganschow thinks the Huskies have performed better than the record shows, and he’s confident about a turnaround occurring sooner than later.
“Early in the season, we had a strong win against Riverside-Brookfield and competed closely with a couple of top 10-ranked opponents. Overall, we’ve been tested early, which has been valuable for our development,” Ganschow said.
OPRF returned 11 players from last year’s squad that finished 7-11, including junior attacker and captain Connor Ganschow, who leads the team in points; junior attacker Arlo Hungerford, who has 18 goals so far this season; and senior defender and captain Connor Barr. The Huskies also have a pair of newcomers making an impact in sophomore attacker James Mattiace and senior defender Kenan Walsh.
“James is a young addition to the roster and is a deceptive shooter,” Coach Ganschow said. “Kenan, who’s in his first year as a varsity starter, is athletic and dependable against some of our opponents’ top offensive threats.
“Our early strengths have been building our team culture and preparing to compete mentally each week. Areas we’re continuing to work on include consistency, execution under pressure, game-speed decision-making, and clearing [the ball].”
Under Ganschow, OPRF has generally played a challenging schedule, and this spring is no different. The Huskies were highly competitive in losses to Downers Grove South, Mount Carmel and Wheaton-Warrenville South, all of whom are currently undefeated and ranked. Ganschow is looking forward to upcoming games at Lyons Township, April 14 (after deadline) and at home with Fenwick, May 15.
“Those games should give us a good measure of where we are and what we need to improve,” he said.
The West Suburban Silver is perennially strong, and Ganschow said OPRF will need to be at its best against Glenbard West, Hinsdale Central, and York – teams he feels are strong contenders for the conference title.
“Our goal is to continue building a team that plays hard, plays together, and improves every day,” Ganschow added. “If we stay consistent, compete for four quarters, and take care of the details, we believe we can put ourselves in a position to compete for a conference title and make a strong postseason run.”