A stacked depth chart of players helps the men’s varsity lacrosse team as the Hounds work toward a State title

By Mackenzie Madison
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The men’s varsity lacrosse team will play its State tournament on Saturday, and Curtis Pittman, varsity lacrosse player and senior, said he feels confident about the team’s chances.

“We have done a great job so far, getting the job done,” he said. “The playing field is pretty even for all the lacrosse teams in Indiana so Carmel as a team, I feel has come pretty far with only a loss to Culver so far. We still have some big games coming up but we have some secret weapons up our sleeves. On defense, (sophomore) Stephen Ciravalo is like a brick wall. J.G. Wentworth has a laser rocket shot, which is crucial for the midfield, and to bring it home for us we have (freshman) Garrett Straton at attack who is an unstoppable man.”

Pittman said the team’s real competition will be Culver, since it can recruit out of state. He said, “The biggest thing Carmel has to do is work 110 percent from whistle to whistle. But from the famous John Madden, ‘To win, you need to score more than the other team,’ and that sums it up for the most part.”

Head Coach Brandon Burke said that one of the team’s biggest strengths for this season is its talent. “One of our bigger strengths is that we have good players from top to bottom. We’re proud of our depth this year. It’s challenging getting everyone playing time and still develop on-field chemistry,” Burke said. “We’ve been fortunate to rotate in many different players at all positions to wear down opposing teams for the majority of games, and at the same time keep everyone as healthy as possible coming into May.”

Pittman said he thinks the team’s biggest strength is its friendship. “The team’s biggest strength is in our camaraderie, and how we mesh well together,” he said. “We also have lots of depth in both our defense and our offense with lots of big playmakers on our team.  Another huge part of our team atmosphere is that we are able to have some comical relief all the time alongside our hard work.”

For the State tournament, Burke said he thinks senior leadership is crucial. “All of our seniors have been there before, and while we have talented younger players,” he said. “They will look to the seniors for their work ethic and attitude in the month of May. The team will ultimately be a reflection of the seniors’ attitude and desire to win come playoffs. All the teams in the playoffs are solid. The tournament is a completely different season within itself. While it’s shorter in duration, the intensity of every game played is on a whole different level.”