Despite Inexperience, Eagles Look for Repeat in Lacrosse

ESD encouraged by younger players filling key holes during start to title defense

Episcopal School of Dallas has one of the most decorated lacrosse programs in Texas and is a defending state champion. Yet the Eagles are approaching their title defense with an underdog mentality.

Playing with a much younger roster, ESD still racked up an 11-1 record through the end of March while aiming to earn back-to-back Texas High School Lacrosse League trophies for the first time since 2003.

“I don’t think we’ve felt any pressure, kind of abnormally, coming off of a championship season, and I welcome that,” said ESD head coach Jay Sothoron. “You have the same expectations. Our approach doesn’t change. Our standard is always to be the best we can be.”

During the 11-1 start, the Eagles were unbeaten against in-state competition, with the only defeat coming against Colorado powerhouse Cherry Creek.

That’s despite ESD graduating 15 seniors from a roster that upset Highland Park in the state semifinals last spring before topping The Woodlands 12-10 in the THSLL championship game. 

The Eagles also continued their SPC dominance with their third consecutive conference crown.

Replacing such standouts as Sean Browne (now at Virginia) and Hunt Sands (High Point) is a new group of senior leaders including defenders Luke Mauser and Vaughn Langston, and goalie Connor Kowalewski, who has saved almost 70 percent of the shots he’s faced this season.

“I’ve been pleasantly surprised with our guys this year,” Sothoron said. “Our offense has the ability to be as good or better than last year. We’re just really young.”

The sustained success has been fueled by newcomers and returnees stepping up at almost every position. Ninth-grader Wayte McKnight is one of the team’s top scorers, and fellow freshman Asher Cooke has helped to fill a void as a long-stick midfielder.

Many other key contributors are also underclassmen, including Noble Provost, Josh Logan, Finley Lear, Michael Goglia, Curtis Mathes, Ryan Tran, and Blake Gubert.

As the playoffs approach in early May, Sothoron said ESD is focused on remaining consistent, staying healthy, and peaking at the right time.

“Winning a championship at any level is really hard,” he said. “There’s a lot of good teams, and we’re all trying to do the same thing.”