lacrosse season overview

The 2023 O’Dea lacrosse team had the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows.

Second year head coach Will Snider likes scheduling hard games to start the year. The season started strong for the Irish this year having won there first 5 games of the year emphatically. This past season, the team has the most depth that the team has ever had. The lacrosse team had lots of star power this year, having a very sound team all over the field. The team seemed to be unstoppable. That was until the team’s 6th game of the season against Seattle Prep.

Seattle prep has been O’Dea’s historical rivals in sports for over 100 years. And in lacrosse it is a battle of the two best programs in the city. The game is huge for both sides not just for being able to say you won, but for the bragging rights it comes with. The Irish fell short in the he game after going up by 4 in the 3rd quarter. Prep however, were not going to go out without a fight and clawed back to tie the game with just seconds left. The game ended up going to sudden death OT where prep won. This game shocked the Irish, as the team’s goal for the season was to go undefeated. After the losses, disappointed in their 4th quarter performance.

After that game, the boys on the team took a trip down to California to play two games. One, against former O’Dea head coach and alumni, and brother to current head coach, Drew Snider. His new team, Sierra Canyon does not have a very strong team and the Irish handled them easily. The other game would not be the same. The Irish took on California powerhouse La Costa Canyon. In the game, the Irish played very well and put up a very strong performance against LCC. The boys unfortunately lost the game but the team looked very strong.

After the team’s trip, the team started to roll, they put up lots of great performances. The team was clicking on all cylinders and beating teams handily. The Irish two biggest wins of the season this year were against Bellevue and Issaquah. Against Bellevue, who has historically gotten the better hand against O’dea, they won an impressive victory 20-3. This was the team’s senior night and the team certainly did not come to play. The team put up 18 points in the first half. Another big win for the Irish as Issaquah. The team came out against a good Issaquah team and handled them swiftly with an 18-3 win.

After the regular season came the Metro league playoffs where O’Dea beat Ballad easily. After that, was the team highly anticipated game agains Seattle prep. Once again, it was not the boys’ night has they lost a game they only lead for the first quarter. For the players on the team, this game did not mean a lot to them as they had already qualified for the state tournament.

The team costed to the state finals having a bye week before the semifinal game against Bellarmine prep. The team was able to beat them before their hilly anticipated 3rd game against Prep in the finals. Going into the game, the team knew they would have to be on their A game. O’Dea played very well as a whole, but were unable to bring out a W in the game. This definitely has left a big stain on what was an incredible team and year of lacrosse.

As an overview of the season, the team had one of the strongest teams they have every had and had an amazing season winning all but 4 games. The team was able to beat up on every team in the state except one, their historical rivals Prep who they lost to 3 times this year. New year, the Irish will come out with a fire under them and will certainly be hungry to show everyone that last year was a fluke and that O’Dea is still the top dog in Seattle.