Historic run: Inside GHS Girls Lacrosse’s Successful Season

The Gainesville High School girls lacrosse team made program history this season. The 16-4 record is the best the program has seen. The Hurricanes’ success is a result of hard work and dedication from the team and its coach.

“It feels pretty great; it’s never happened before and I get to be part of a really great team that works well together, so it’s just fun to make team history,” GHS captain Seyran Kepic said.

Offseason preparation

Last year, the ‘Canes ended their season 10-8. The team decided to take initiative during the offseason, led by their captains: sophomore Karly Walser, junior Maeve Baker and seniors Kepic and Rebecca Kim. They held team meetings, focused on the basics and building relationships. This helped the Hurricanes prepare for the season.

“We ran a lot and then worked on basic stick skills and kind of introducing the players to the sport,” Baker said. “One thing about our team: It’s all new players. We didn’t want to have to go into the season without knowing the sport.”

Kepic said, “I think meeting before the season started really helped the new people feel more comfortable with the older people and get an understanding of what lacrosse is about.”

The meetings helped assure a smooth start to the season, with most of the team knowing the skills ahead of time. The Hurricanes started the season off strong with a four-game winning streak. The team suffered a loss to Buchholz in February, but got right back on track by going on to win nine straight games.

The team’s success

A combination of team chemistry and depth helps give the team a competitive edge.

“I feel like this year, we really focused on having a good team dynamic and good team chemistry on and off the field, because that just helps with the game overall and our relationships outside of lacrosse,” Kim said. 

The team developed the relationships through the preseason prep and by implementing a big-little system. Underclassmen are paired with some of the older team members. The pairs then exchange gifts throughout the season. This helps younger players feel less intimidated talking to their teammates.

Coach Eric Joseph also placed an emphasis on the importance of communicating and having a good team dynamic, which translated onto the field, where they easily communicate with each other. 

“His [Joseph] coaching and just working with the team and the things that he really emphasizes I think are more than the skill of lacrosse. The things he emphasizes about working together and communicating and working as a team, those are a big emphasis for him. I hear him talking about that. And I really think that that has been a major component of their success formula this year,” said Matthew Walser, a GHS parent and team statistician.

Another advantage that GHS has is its depth. The girls are confident in each other’s abilities to make the right decisions to score. Joseph also tries to make sure the team is able to rotate and play different positions. 

“One thing that I push to the girls: I understand everyone has their favorite position that they like to play in, but [I have] them get used to playing other positions,” Joseph said. “They’ll rotate, they’ll run a couple of plays in their normal position, but [also] in their rotated positions so everyone knows how to play something from every spot on the attack side.”

The Hurricanes’ versatility makes them harder to defend. 

Growing Support

The team also attributes part of its success to the fans and parents who come out to watch the games.

“I do think the hype definitely goes up a notch when parents and friends and family are there. I don’t know, the energy is just different,” Karly Walser said. “It’s more [of a] home field advantage.” 

Support for the team has only grown. Teachers, administrators and even former coaches have been showing up to cheer the ‘Canes on. 

Joseph’s Impact

Their coach has the largest role in the team’s achievements this season. This is Joseph’s first experience coaching girls lacrosse. Joseph was first exposed to the sport when his daughter started playing lacrosse her sophomore year of high school. He started coaching the team a few years ago after the previous coach left. Joseph stepped into the role in order to keep the program going. Even though his daughter graduated last year, he continues to coach. Through hard work and his dedication to the team, he helped the program grow into what it is today.

“It’s funny how this team has grown and the popularity has grown,” Joseph said.

Baker reflected on the growth of the team.

“Two years ago, three years ago, we might not have had a team and then next year, if we get enough players, we could have a JV team,” Baker said. “It’s not only fans, people are starting to want to play the sport.”

Joseph wants the girls to look back on how much they have grown as players, both individually and as a group.

“One thing I’ve told them all year long, that I know they’re tired of hearing, is never stop working on yourself. Try to be better today than you were yesterday,” Joseph said.

Looking Ahead

The Hurricanes were the runners-up to Oak Hall (15-1) in the district tournament Wednesday night. The season continues when they compete in the FHSAA Girls Lacrosse State Championship Tournament. GHS will once again play at Oak Hall at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the regional quarterfinal. 

2025 FHSAA Girls Lacrosse State Championship Tournament Class 1A Tournament