This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Spring Sports Preview: Expectations High for Solon Lacosse Team

Comets have talent and experience for tournament run

The growing pains are over for the Solon lacrosse team. This season's Comets are poised to make their biggest strides yet under head coach Hans Rydquist.

"There is a lot of experience and our expectations are high," said Rydquist, in his seventh season at Solon. "We return four of our top five leading scorers, two of three starting defenders and our starting goalie. The players' expectation is to make it to the state finals."

Rydquist, an All-Ohio player at Hudson High School and an all-conference competitor for Wittenberg University, took his team to the regional semifinals last year before losing to Medina. The Comets were ranked fifth in the Northeast Region last year.

Find out what's happening in Solonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Our team goal is to play hard every play every day," he said. "I think they have the talent to do whatever they put their minds to. This is easily the most talented group I have coached."

Senior goalie Keith LePorte is back for his third season and he will be one of the top goalies in the area. Senior defender Alex Heffernan is another third-year starter as is senior defender Brian Gerstenslager. Senior midfielder Mike Perrino is now in his fourth year with the varsity and is a creative scorer and senior midfielder Chris Humphrey, one of the school's top athletes, is another four-year player.

Find out what's happening in Solonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Sophomore midfielder Drew Barksdale returns and will be one of the state's top players at that position this season. Junior midfielder Tres Barksdale is back for his third year of varsity play and is equally adept at offense and defense. Senior attackman Matt DiCarro is yet another experienced player who is the team's best feeder.

Solon's toughest foes this season will be Hudson, Medina, St. Ignatius and University School. The Comets open the season against US April 7 before the home opener April 9 against Walsh Jesuit.

Adult and student season passes for lacrosse are available for $20 for adults and $10 for students and are good for both varsity and junior varsity home games. Forms for the passes can be found on the lacrosse page of the high school athletic website.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Solon