Concordia’s Boys Lacrosse program began in 2017 with humble beginnings. That year’s team included 13 players with only a couple that had ever played lacrosse before. In the program’s first 7 seasons, the team was a combined 13-58 overall. Now, in the program’s 8th season this Spring, the Crusaders have almost equaled the total wins from that of the first seven seasons as they sit at 11-4 Overall (3-0 District) and are looking to make history by advancing to the State Final Four!
Today, the lacrosse program includes over 30 players and has an excellent blend of players with youth experience as well as several athletes that have learned and harnessed their lacrosse skills while in high school under the coaching staff’s direction.
2024 has been a special season beyond the obvious win-loss record. The Crusaders went 2-0 at the TAPPS Lacrosse Showcase (earning their first wins at the event), they travelled to Florida for Spring Break, and not only won their first match against a Class B team, but they went 2-1 in their three games against Class B teams!
Concordia also finished district play this season with a 3-0 record and earned the #1 seed for the City Playoffs for the first time in school history. They are seeking to advance to the Texas High School Lacrosse League (THSLL) Class D State Final Four for the first time. On Sunday, April 28th, at 7:15 pm at Kubiak Stadium on the campus of St. Pius X Catholic High School, Concordia will face Emery/Weiner School in the Class D South District City Championship with the winner advancing to the State Final Four.
Been There Before w/ a Familiar Foe
In 2021, Concordia reached the City Championship game for the first time but ultimately fell to Emery/Weiner 7-9, something that this year’s seniors remember as they were freshmen in the program and want to avenge that loss.
Emery/Weiner has been a dominant roadblock in THSLL Class D South District for Concordia since 2017. The two teams have played 10x with the Jaguars holding an 8-2 advantage and have outscored the Crusaders 114-50 in the series. However, in their most recent five matchups, the winning team has only won by 1 or 2 goals and Concordia has gone 2-3 after being outmatched in the first five games. Specifically, the Crusaders are 2-1 in the last three matchups and are feeling confident they can score against the Jaguars while also limiting their opponent’s offensive rhythm with the traditional physical and fast Concordia defense.
There have been many reasons for this season’s successes but we’ll try to summarize some of the key team stats. In the last 8 games, Concordia has been consistently strong and has averaged almost 10 goals a game while only giving up 3.5 goals per contest. This starts by having the ball in possession as the Crusaders are winning 72% of faceoffs, causing almost 16 turnovers from their opponents while holding them to less than 50% clear percentage after a save, turnover, penalty, or out of bounds.
Team Successes
On the season, the Crusaders have scored 157 goals with 74 assists while only giving up 98. Possession has been key to the success with multiple teammates taking faceoffs for a combined 70% faceoff win percentage helping Concordia hold a 55% possession time advantage. Ground balls often tell the story of who is going to be victorious in lacrosse and Concordia has collected 777 GBs while only allowing opponents to collect 515 GBs.
The team also has 245 takeaways on defense and has successfully cleared the ball out of their defensive end 66% of the time. Goalies JT Treadway ’24, Walker Rasco ’25, and Evan Garber ’26 have combined for 127 saves in the cage as well. Finally, they are holding opponents to less than 55% clearing following a save, turnover, penalty, or out of bonds while in the opponent’s defensive part of the field.
Individual Stat Leaders
Individually, there have been several Crusaders that have performed exceptionally well to help the team:
- All-time school leader in total points, goals, goals in a game, and goals in a season, Attack Quintin Dyer ’25 has exploded onto the Texas Lacrosse radar this season. Dyer has a total of 61 goals (averaging 4+ goals/game) and 10 assists this season, almost doubling his goal total from 2022 and 2023 combined when he scored 4 and 30 goals respectively. He works the crease well and can get his lefty shot from anywhere on the field with his fast hands. His 10 assists also have come when he is often double-teamed.
- Attack Luke Etter ’25 has also helped carry the offensive load this season with 32 goals and 9 assists. Etter is able to take his defender one-on-one while also cutting to open space and finding a pocket to get a quick shot off.
- Midfield/FOGO Hudson Huempfner ’24 has done it all. One of the seniors and captains on the team, Huempfner has been with the program for four seasons and continues to get better each year. As a very shifty midfielder and FOGO, Huempfner has controlled the game in many ways. He was won 162/220 faceoffs this season for an impressive 73.6%. He also leads the team in ground balls with 113 and has a total of 24 points with 9 goals and a team-high 15 assists.
- Midfield Connor Reynard ’26 has stepped up in his sophomore season for the Crusaders with a 67.6% faceoff win rate in addition to his 23 points for several goals and assists.
- Freshman Attack Ethan Quiggins ’27 has gained quality varsity minutes this year and made the most of his time on the field with 10 assists.
On the defensive side of the ball, experience and leadership have helped the Crusaders limit scoring chances, kill penalties, and give goalies the opportunity to make saves. Dylan Burford ’24, Christian Johnson ’24, Aydan Wright ’26, Ethan Beazley ’26, and John Toukatly Jr. ’26 have consistently held down the fort on defense.
- Toukatly Jr. leads the team with 40 takeaways and is 4th on the team in ground balls with 82.
- Beazley has recorded 38 takeaways (2nd on team) and has 83 ground balls (3rd on team) while playing some
- Johnson is second on the team in ground balls with 92 and third on the team in takeaways with 35.
- In the cage, the tandem of JT Treadway ’24 and Walker Rasco ’25 have been brick walls all year long as they both have registered over 50 saves and have save percentages at 60% and 59% respectively.
We are excited for the future of Lacrosse at Concordia and proud of how far the program has grown this year! Let's go Saders!