Graduation hit the Northwestern Lehigh boys lacrosse team in a somewhat lopsided way last spring.

The Tigers lost Devon Hildebrand from the midfield and both Baline Snyder and Stone Sosnovik from the list of attackers, but their defensive squad went untouched, with one glaring exception. Goalie Bailen Smargiassi also graduated leaving coach Marcus Janda with some work to do this spring.

Seniors Josh Wambold, Jared Meck, and Kaden Rausch give the Tigers an experienced defensive group of players and freshman Nick Whitney will see some time there as well. The strength of the defense will make things a little easier on junior Dane Kauker, who takes over in goal.

Wambold is a shutdown defender and comes into every game as the guy relied upon to stop the opponent’s top offensive player. Meck is the vocal leader of the defense and is capable of playing a very physical type of game. Rausch is known for his ability to cause turnovers and is the most technically skilled player on defense.

The midfield also has experience with senior Carter Zentz, juniors Braxton Lakatosh and Austin Bittenbender, and sophomores Tyler Kaas and Braydon Uricchio. That group is defensive minded but also contains players who work well in transition and have the ability to score goals. Another freshman, Kendall Wikert will also gain experience this season.

Zentz and Bittenbender are more defensive minded types of players, but Zentz also plays a key role in transition to set up other players with shots. Lakatosh and Kaas are more offensive minded, and this could be the season that Kaas makes a move up the scoring hierarchy for the Tigers. Uricchio is there to do a little bit of everything, lending support to defense, transition, and offense. Uricchio also handles the majority of the faceoffs for the Tigers and takes pride in controlling the play.

The attack is where the team took the biggest hit and has been the biggest project for Janda and the coaching staff this spring. Michael Lagowy is talented and gained experience up front as a freshman and will be called upon to up his game again in his sophomore season. Lagowy has good size and finished third on the team in scoring in his first varsity season.

“Our kids have all worked hard and they have incorporated winning into the program,” said Janda. “And the seniors pass that along to the younger players.

“We have a good mix of players this season and we have a tough schedule and that’s exactly how we want it because that will make us stronger.”

After winning district gold in 2023, the Tigers finished 12-8 last season and returned to the finals but fell to Allentown Central Catholic to win silver medals instead of gold. This season could be another showdown between the two schools.

“I love it that we can look at last season and call it a down year,” said Janda. “I want the expectations of this team to be high and I want us to not be satisfied unless we win championships.”

The Tigers play a controlled style of lacrosse and allow opponents to come unhinged while they remain poised on the field. That control limits penalties and only further frustrated opponents into making mistakes.

The Colonial League does not have enough schools with lacrosse programs to sponsor the sport.

That gives Northwestern the opportunity to go right from the regular season and into districts where they have gone to the finals in each of the past three seasons, including a district championship in just the fourth year of the program’s existence.