Doug Riddle isn't quite an old-timer when it comes to lacrosse, but he and his players are no longer rookies.
Riddle's introduction to the sport came two years ago, when he was an assistant coach for the brand new girls lacrosse program at O'Fallon High. Now he's the Panthers' head coach, as Stefanie Grossman stepped down after the 2009 season.
"It's been a little more than I expected, but it's been fun, too," Riddle said. "Stefanie left a pretty solid foundation for us to build on.
"Last year was our first year as a varsity team and we did pretty well. From our first game two years ago compared to last season, we made an amazing amount of progress.
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"This year is even better. We have a lot of talented freshmen coming in from the Styx program."
Styx, an O'Fallon-based junior lacrosse organization, sent its first players into the high school program last season.
"Two years ago, we had hardly any girls who had played lacrosse before," Riddle said. "Now they're coming in with experience, which helps out a lot."
Junior Alma Stuhldreher, a defender/midfielder, may be the team's best all-around player.
"At times we'll even sneak her into attack (position)," Riddle said. "She can play just about anywhere."
Senior Ali Schmidt will play attack, with junior Natalie Schmidt moving from defense to midfield/attack. Junior Courtney Jones is the starting goalie.
Three sophomores from the Styx program - Jenn Furrow (attack), Brynn Laverdure (center) and Mackenzie McIntyre (midfield) move up to the varsity after spending last season on the JV team. McIntyre is the daughter of O'Fallon boys lacrosse coach Jim McIntyre.
"Everything has improved this year, but our transitions look a lot nicer," Riddle said. "That's something we weren't able to pull off last year.
"Our attack is a lot better. Against Rockwood Summit (a 13-9 win on April 13) seven different girls scored for us. Our shot distribution has improved - we're able to shoot from just about anywhere now."
O'Fallon was 3-3 after Thursday's 14-7 win over Visitation Academy. The Panthers played host to Parkway North on Tuesday and have a home match against Hazelwood West on Thursday before traveling to Chicago for the Windy City Tournament this weekend.
"The girls have set goals of playing more as a team and feeling they can all share in the success of a win," Riddle said. "We wanted to ramp up our defense this year, so we made some changes, like playing Alma a little closer to the goal.
"The girls have matured a lot in their game play. There are more patterns now - it's not just run and gun."
