The Atoms boys lacrosse team competed in their first regular season game on March 16 against the South County Stallions on the road.

The Stallions offense got off to a booming start against the Atoms and jumped out to a 5-0 lead early. South County did not let up a few possessions later with a goal from junior Dillon Spalding to extend their lead.

The Atoms struggled to create a rhythm offensively and were shutout from scoring for the game. On the defensive side, the team was unable to halt the Stallion offense, giving up 16 goals on the game. The Stallions picked up the win over the Atoms 16-0.

“Against South County, our coaches emphasized our lack of desire to win and how we weren’t able to get the job done against a team that wasn’t as good as they were last year,” sophomore Sam Phan said. “We had a shot to capture the victory, but we just didn’t have the fight within us.”

The team failed to capitalize off of the momentum gained in their 9-5 victory in a scrimmage against the Thomas Jefferson Colonials on March 7. The Atoms split their scrimmages for the season, losing the first against the Fairfax Rebels by a lopsided margin on March 3, but then bouncing back to pick up a victory against the Colonials.

“We redeemed ourselves with the win against TJ, but we couldn’t keep that momentum going for our first regular season game,” senior Bilal Kamara said.

The Atoms look to review all aspects of their play for their next game against the West Springfield Spartans.

“We need to improve on our stick skills so we don’t give the other team more opportunities, talk and communicate more and also help our goalies out on defense,” Head Coach Bill Maglisceau said.

Improving on communication on the field and fundamentals will be key for the Atoms to have a successful regular season.

“Overall we just need to be aware of what’s going on, communicate, make smart decisions and learn more about the game so that we can improve as much as possible for our coming games,” Kamara said.

The Atoms’ team this year still faces a younger roster with players that do not have much prior varsity experience. However, the new roster has given the Atoms a different approach to their playing style.

“Last Season we had some dynamic players, and this year we have a team where everybody can score, everybody can get ground balls and the chance for playing time is wide open,” Maglisceau said.

The opportunity for the Atoms to improve from last seasons 1-11 record is still very possible with many games yet to be played. However, the team will face stiff competition as they will face multiple Patriot Conference rivals in the coming weeks.

The Atoms will take on the West Springfield Spartans in their next game on March 22, a game rescheduled from the original date of March 14.

“We have a really good chance of coming out with a victory against West Springfield,” Phan said.

Following their game against the Spartans, the Atoms will take on the T.C. Williams Spartans on March 24.