On Thurs., March 26, the men’s varsity lacrosse team went up against Miami Country Day School at 6 p.m. inside Cumber Stadium. It was a special occasion, as it was Senior Night, and the seniors of the team were honored for their service and dedication over their high school careers. The team came into the game with a struggling 2026 campaign, going 1-8 up to this point. Country Day entered the game with a 9-3 record.

“It felt really emotional knowing that the end of the four years I’ve spent growing along with teammates had come,” attackman Joshua Johnson (22) said.

To begin the game, the team’s offense was aggressive, keeping possession of the ball in the offensive zone and getting many good shots on goal. The team also had power play chances early in the game, but the Country Day goalie managed to keep the ball out of the net.

Despite the team controlling the offense for the first half of the first quarter, Country Day was eventually able to go on the offense. On a counter attack, Country Day utilized a pass-heavy offensive tactic to spread out the team’s defensive unit, and notched their first goal of the game with 5:27 left in the quarter.

The team attempted to regroup, and once again found themselves closing in on Country Day’s goal. Midfielder Noah Ozan (5) nearly scored on a close shot, but the Country Day goalie again kept the ball out of harm’s way.

Toward the end of the first quarter, Country Day began to build offensive momentum of their own as the team’s offensive pressure wore off. However, goalie Matteo Swetsky (16) made several acrobatic saves, keeping the team’s deficit at one. Late in the first quarter, the team allowed another goal, and they went into the second quarter down 2-0.

With the game close and just a two goal deficit, the team needed to regain offensive momentum to stay in it. However, the offense was unable to get anything going despite some good looks, while Country Day controlled the pace of the game. Early in the second, Country Day managed to slip through the team’s defense and score a close goal for their third goal of the game.

Three minutes later, Country Day netted another goal, increasing their lead to four. After a decent chance from midfielder Max Fliegel (18), Country Day countered with an attack of their own and pushed one past Swetsky to make the score 5-0.

Despite the loss, Fliegel was a bright spot for the team, as he scored one of their two goals. He is returning to the team next year, and is looking to play a vital role in the 2027 season.

“Next year, I want to shift the narrative to where Douglas lacrosse isn’t a sign up sport, but a team wanting to win each and every game,” Fliegel said.

Country Day was not done offensively, and in the dying moments of the half, they snuck in one last goal to make their lead 6-0 going into halftime. The team had much to look at during the break, getting shut out in the first half with their early offensive pressure now stalling. However, the team emphasized that they also aimed to enjoy playing together as a unit one last time on their home turf.

“The team means a lot to me,” attackman Zaid Popen (43) said. “I see them all as brothers and have fought through blood, sweat and tears with them.”

Coming out of the half, it was clear if the team did not get any offense going soon, they would face yet another loss on the season. However, their performance in the third quarter was no different than the two before.

Just a minute in, the defense folded against Country Day’s offense and gave up another goal, which was followed up by another goal three minutes later. After a quick stint of offensive opportunities following a string of face off wins by midfielder Dylan Kaye (31), Country Day picked up where they left off and notched their ninth goal of the game.

With 2:54 left in the third quarter, Country Day scored yet another goal, increasing the team’s deficit to 10. The team controlled the ball in the offensive zone in the late moments of the quarter, but the clock ran out before any shots were taken.

Down big and with only one quarter left to play, the team was primarily focused on sticking it out and continuing to play hard. Despite three goals by Country Day within the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, they refused to go down quietly. The team scored their first goal of the game after Fliegel scored from a midrange, breaking up Country Day’s chances at a shut-out win.

Moments later, attackman Mason Wiener (2) scored as well, making the score 13-2. However, just before the conclusion of the game, the team surrendered one last goal, ending the game with a 14-2 loss. Just like that, the seniors had played their final game in Cumber Stadium.

“It felt good to play my final game at home,” Popen said. “A new chapter in my lacrosse journey is beginning and I was excited for my future.”

It was a difficult outing for the team, losing 14-2 on Senior Night and the final home game of the season. It was not a great season thus far for the team, going 1-9 following this loss and their losing streak extended to eight games. However, the team will close out their season on the road against Spanish River High School on Tues., March 31 and will work hard to improve for next season.