The Parkland High School girls lacrosse team had its 2022 season come to an end at the hands of rival Emmaus last Monday night in the District 11 Class 3A semifinals. It was the third consecutive defeat by the Trojans to the Green Hornets, including in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference semifinals two weeks prior.

Parkland finished 10-9 overall and qualified for both postseason tournaments and according to first-year head coach Brittaney Costigan, it was a successful year.

“I think our season was very good, and we did better than most expected,” said Costigan. “It helped to lay the foundation for the direction we will continue to grow towards.”

Emmaus, the EPC runners up and a district finalist, has had Parkland’s number this year. Costigan noted what makes them so good this year.

“Their skill level, intensity and speed,” Costigan said. “Going into each of our games against them we knew the best way for us to be successful was to try and not them play their style of game. I think these things will help they be successful in their play going later into the post season. We try to play our game as one unit and disrupt their style of play as much as possible.”

There were a number of players that contributed to the success this season and Costigan highlighted the group.

“We obviously have our major contributors: Nikki [Boyer], Kaz [Kennedy], and Gigi [Leonzi],” said Costigan. “But I think, especially going later into the season, it was a full team effort trying to be as successful as possible as one whole unit. Starting all the way from our goalie, Kayla [McNevin], through our defense; Morgan [Napolitano], Riley [Petronio], Mariana [Aubele-Gonzalez], and Morgan [Dobil]; through to our attack; Taryn [Poremba], Hannah [Fredrich], Ella [Esteban], and Riley [Santa-Anna].”

With a number of starters set to return next season, Costigan sees the groundwork laid from this year for a successful 2023.

“This season has me very excited for next year,” Costigan said. “We are losing some key seniors but also have a lot of returning talent. I think this year began to lay out the framework and foundation for where I would like to see the program go. We will continue to build off our successes this year and continue to grow into the next.”

There were seven seniors that will graduate this year and they helped make Costigan’s first season a success that will hopefully transition into next season.

“The seniors this year played a huge role on the team,” said Costigan. “Besides the skill they added to the team, their leadership will be very much missed. They helped lead the team to every success they experienced this year and will be greatly missed.”