Glen Strandberg
Sports Editor

The Forest Lake lacrosse team started the year from humble beginnings, but as the Rangers first season winds down, the initial campaign looks to be a success.

On Monday, May 7, the squad lost 6-4 to Holy Family, bringing the team’s record to 3-6.

Coached by Rahal Cheikh, the Rangers opened the season with two consecutive losses against Spring Lake Park. That didn’t get this group down, however, as they came back to defeat Coon Rapids 7-6 on Saturday, April 21.

“This is where their team spirit started building, right here,” Cheikh said. “They came from behind and won.

“The coach for Coon Rapids basically told me, ‘This was played by heart and spirit; this is why you guys won.’”

A large majority of Forest Lake’s line-up was new to lacrosse, and Cheikh has noticed the individuals and the team get significantly better during the spring.

“As far as the team, I mean, they’ve come a long way,” he said. “Skill-wise they picked it up pretty quick. Overall the improvement from when we started to where we’re at has been huge.”

In an attempt to expose the entire squad to all facets of the game, Cheikh mixed and matched when it came to who would play where. One day a player might be on defense, and the next night they would be slotted in the attack position.

It wasn’t until the last few games that the line-ups had a bit more permanence.

One area that saw little change was in goal, and Cheikh had high praise for Garrett Neuman and Matt Roshell.

“The two goalies have been phenomenal, they’ve been awesome,” he said. “They improved every game that they played. They kept the team going.”

On the offensive side, the entire team has chipped in, but Jared Haider, Chris Fritzinger, Nabil Cheikh and Ben Banse have been the point leaders for the Rangers.

What’s nice is that most of the roster has said they will return for Year Two in 2008.

“It’s a lot of fun,” coach Cheikh said. “We’re hoping to get more people, get more interest and get people to come and check us out.”

After the regular season closed on Wednesday at Eden Prairie, the Rangers will take part in a tournament on May 19 at Wayzata.

Top of Page