Boys' lacrosse team gearing up for season

The Outlaws boys' lacrosse team is anticipating the season ahead and is projected to take first place in the High Desert Conference this year.

Sisters will be one of four expansion teams to join the conference, along with Redmond, Summit and Mountain View. Sprague, South Salem, Liberty, Thurston, Wilson and West Salem (6A) are also included in the league.

Sisters will return all 10 starters from last year and all 17 players form last season's JV team. Coach Bill Rexford told The Nugget. He's also anticipating a flood of new players coming from the football and soccer teams.

The Outlaws will be led this season by senior Doug Emberton (middle), junior Nate Emberton (attack) and junior Thad Anderson (goalie).

"These three kids really represent the toughness of our team and are passionate for the game. The Emberton brothers are big, tough and strong and will never be mistaken for finesse players," Coach Rexford said.

"Thad (Anderson) takes it personally when a goal is scored on him, and he's only content with his play when he shuts out the other team. Thad was unbeaten as a starter last season, and Sisters' only loss came when he missed a game."

Rexford told The Nugget that Jeremy and Jacob Evans (midfield) will also play a huge role and will contribute poise and maturity to the team.

Rexford said, "We want to make it to the playoffs, and if we get the right draw, we would love to win our first round game. For us to be successful, we need to schedule some out-of-conference, really tough opposition.

"Within three years, we've gone from nothing to a full integrated program, middle school through high school varsity, and our participation is the envy of many," added Rexford.

Lacrosse is catching on in the West after evolving as a popular sport in the Northeast for more than a century.