RHS senior Tyler Holland, the captain of the Randolph Varsity lacrosse team, knows he has an important role to play this season; leading the team to success this spring in his final year of high school.

At press time, the team was two games into the season, falling to Delbarton, 16-5, in the season opener on April 3, but bouncing back five days later with a resounding win over Roxbury, 19-3, on April 8.

The third game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. today against Caldwell. “We are looking to make a statement win in the Waterman division today,” said Holland about the upcoming game.

Holland, who recently committed to play lacrosse at Stevens Institute of Technology starting next year, knows that achieving success is never simple. Being a captain brings several challenges and requires a strong leader for players to look to for guidance. Holland will have to lead his team through the good and the bad, the ups and especially the downs, of the season.

“Some challenges I see for myself as a leader of the team this year are maintaining a certain level of attention to detail,” Holland said. “We have a very tough schedule with difficult game after difficult game, and the discipline as a team needs to remain consistent throughout. I feel as though my role is to show how the foot cannot come off the pedal.”

As with the start of every new season, one of the current team’s challenges is making up for the loss of last year’s seniors to graduation, including Andrew Novak, Sean Lawler and Patrick Bourke. This can often leave a team with gaps in leadership and player positions.

The current team has also seen key players get injured early in the season, including seniors Noah Marovitz and Adriatik Koliqi. “Losing these guys is an unfortunate thing to deal with as a team because of their important roles as players in the locker room and on the field,” Holland said.

Despite this, Holland remains optimistic. He is a confident captain with exemplary leadership qualities who believes in his players. “Although I do miss our seniors from last year, I have full belief in the guys we have this year to fill those roles,” Holland said. “We have juniors stepping up this year such as Jake Weiner, Jake Miller, Connor Cuonzo, and Eddie Wysmierski, just to name a few. I have full faith in these guys to make immediate impact on the field this year.”

In the fall, Holland will be continuing his athletic and academic career at Stevens, located in Hoboken, where he will play lacrosse and pursue a pre-law track. “Next year, playing at Stevens Institute of Technology, I am most looking forward to playing a very competitive Division 3 schedule as well as having lacrosse be something I can play every day in what would normally be a high school off season,” Holland said.

Randolph fans can feel confident about their lax captain and look forward to an exciting and successful season.