MIAA lacrosse and St. Joseph’s failure to win

Have you ever wondered why our lacrosse team keeps losing? Here at the Mount, we find ourselves in the midst of one of the greatest high school lacrosse leagues in the nation, the MIAA. For the last couple of years, we have either finished the season dead last or second to last, only at John Carrol High School. Even since the founding of the MIAA in 1996, we have never been the league champions. Through statistics, in-depth ratings, and other sources that will define the reasons behind our hard-working lacrosse programs failing to find a championship.

After going 8-9 with a .47% win percentage during the 2024 season, we ended up with an 184th national ranking. Even with this relatively high national ranking, we finished only 22nd in the Maryland rankings, which is devastating. These rankings pale in comparison to the Goliath of the MIAA. Nationwide, the MIAA had seven teams rated 90 or higher; the lowest-rated squad was only a considerate 85.94. The highest is McDonough High School, with a bolstering 97.32 national ranking. To put into perspective, St. Joe only won two in-conference games, with wins mostly coming from out-of-state teams, such as St. Margaret’s and St. Ignatius, which are from California and Ohio, respectively.

A lot of what makes a great lacrosse team is recruitment. Recruitment means that colleges have seen a player’s talent on the field and given them scholarships to play for them next season when they go to college. Last year, only three seniors out of 14 were recruited. Boys Latin, who topped the group last year, ended the season with twenty out of twenty-five seniors being recruited to go play for different colleges. So while looking at that difference, we can understand how impactful having recruited seniors on high school lacrosse teams is. Even so, a term has been made for having a lot of recruited seniors in a season; the players call it the “Golden Generation.” These groups of players tend to heavily impact games because of their experience, size, and leadership, leading to championship wins.

Although we have never won the MIAA championships, the coaching staff and players continue on their journey for glory. Our coaches are continuously looking for that ‘Golden Generation’ to help give us that extra push. In addition, our St. Joseph brothers show up every day for practice and give it 110%, making sure they do their best to leave it on the felid. Good luck, and Go Gaels!