The spring season for the Creighton Prep Lacrosse team is off and running. The team won their season opener 17-3 against Waukee and are looking to repeat from last year as state champions. This year’s team lost a lot [a]of starters from last season, but that doesn’t change the attitude of the team. Senior captain and midfielder David Spitzenberger is ready to lead the team this year.

“Our expectation this year and every year is to win the state championship. Obviously this year is going to be harder with all of the talent we lost, but I still believe we have a good chance of winning,” Spitzenberger said.

Although the team this year lost some great players from last year’s team, such as Leo Dunlap who is now playing for Cleveland State University, there are still many exciting players on the team this year.

“One player to watch is Mark Mausbach, our forward and main goal scorer” Spitzenberger said. “Another is our goalie Jack Abt, who we all think is a top goalie in the state. I’m also excited to watch Will Wharton and Chase Wagner who are both freshmen. I’m excited to see how much better they get and how they gel into the kind of offense and defense we run.”

Last year, the team beat West Des Moines in a thrilling championship game, and they will face many tough opponents this year.

“West Des Moines always has a good team, so that will be a tough game for us” Spitzenberger said. “Elkhorn South also has a pretty good team this year so I’m excited to play them” Spitzenberger said.

Spitzenberger and the rest of the team knows winning a state championship is tough, so they will have to work hard to get it.

“We will have to work hard every practice if we want to win” Spitzenberger said. “Our coaches always tell us ‘practice how you play’ so we all believe that and will have to take that mentality into everything we do on the field.”

Spitzenberger is a captain this year and he is excited for his role to change as a leader.

“I’m ready to make the transition from being another player on the team to being a captain. I’m ready to help the underclassmen get better and help the team overall win games with my leadership on and off the field,” Spitzenberger said.

Spitzenberger is ready to go for his last season in his high school career and is excited to see what the future holds.

“We are ready to see what the rest of the season has for us and we all expect to win the state championship for each other,” Spitzenberger said.