By: Andrew Browning <[email protected]>

With only four games remaining in its regular season, the Carmel men’s lacrosse team looks to finish well in order to ensure a low seed in the State tournament. The Hounds take on Cathedral at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow in an away game. Their final home game is on Tuesday against Hamilton Southeastern at 7:30 p.m. Zach Miller, defender, captain and senior, said the Hounds need to play well in their remaining games so that they are prepared for a long run in the State playoffs.

“We’ve got to get a good record so that we can get a good seed in the tournament,” Miller said. “There’s more competition after spring break, so we have to know we are able to play against the top teams and compete with them.”

Miller said that one factor that has helped the team remain focused throughout the season is the Hounds’ motto, “Play like a senior.”

“One of the coaches’ philosophies is to ‘play like a senior,’ so everyone plays like it’s their last year and everyone has that mindset,” Miller said.

Assistant Coach David Schwartz said that he believes the phrase has caught on with the team, and he said that all the players have started approaching each game with a better attitude. “In the past kids felt that it’s a pecking order, and seniors play the hardest and the other kids didn’t think they were expected to do quite as much,” Schwartz said. “But this year we’ve talked about how everyone needs to stand up and contribute. We’ve got freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors playing, and we don’t have younger players who are afraid to step up anymore. It’s really just a great bunch of kids to coach.”

Schwartz said that as the regular season winds down for the Hounds, he hopes they can continue to improve with each game.

“It’s very important to look at each game as a building block and focus on different aspects of the team to make us better,” Schwartz said. “You want to go in with a lot of momentum, but if (wins) come too easy then that’s a concern too because each game needs to be a building block so we can continue to improve ourselves.”

Miller said that the goal for the remainder of the regular season is to knock off some of Indiana’s better teams, and have everyone playing with 100 percent intensity when they do it. As far as the postseason goes, that goal is an obvious one.

“We want to get some wins in bigger in-state games, and want everyone to play their hardest,” Miller said. “And of course to win State is the biggest goal right there. It’ll be a lot of fun too.”

Schwartz said that the team’s unity has been the key to its success this season.

“I think we have a great group of kids with a lot of camaraderie, and I think that’s really what leads to us being a great team,” Schwartz said. “This team really stands out and every game is a real group effort.”