Franklin Girls Lacrosse Set to Host Team from England

Franklin girls’ lacrosse players are particularly excited and eager to play their game this Saturday morning.  

No, not because it’s against a hated opponent or a local rival. They’re just incredibly anxious to hear the speaking accents of the competition.

Well, that’s not the only reason.

When the lady Indians (the varsity at 11 a.m. and the JV at 1 p.m.) square off in a scrimmage against a squad all the way from England, they’ll be experiencing something that few high school athletes will ever get to do. They’ll be sharing their passion for the sport in an international event.

“We are really excited,” said junior Maggie Montanye. “Our whole team wants them to come already so we can meet them and see what they are like and see what England’s like.”

The Franklin players will get ample time to do that. Aside from just the game itself, the Indians will be spending a ton of time with the 29 girls from St. Bartholomew’s in Newbury, Berkshire, England off the field.

Each Indians player will serve as a host family for a pair St. Bartholomew’s athletes, taking part together in a jam-packed schedule of activities that includes dinner at Tonino’s on Saturday night, a trip to Camden Yards for an Orioles game the following day and a barbecue Sunday night.  

The British team—whose two week travel include stops in Virginia and Delaware—will also be visiting the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum by Johns Hopkins University and the National Aquarium in Baltimore on Monday.

Even with all that’s going on, assistant coach Dee Mullineaux, a central figure in planning the event, said that the magnitude of what her team is taking part in still hasn’t set in among the players.

“One of the parents told me yesterday that they [the players] don’t realize what a big deal it is,” Mullineaux said. “They don’t right now. Once [the English team] gets here they will and once they leave they will. They are excited about hosting them, so they’re getting there.”

Mullineaux, who coordinated the event with a tour planner back in England, helped put together a similar affair seven years ago when she was the head coach at Franklin.

The coach said that back in 2004 the English teams’ skill level was not nearly on par with what Franklin brought to the table. In fact, that school traveled to Reisterstown with wooden lacrosse sticks.

However, she anticipates that the British have more than likely caught up a bit by now. Either way, it should make for an interesting dynamic to the game.

“We are excited to play them because we don’t know how they are going to be skill wise,” senior Rae Robinson said. “It’ll be fun to play with them and see what they’ve got.”

Added Montanye, “I hope it’s not awkward if we beat them really bad and they’re upset and then they have to spend the night at our house. But, I don’t think it will be like that.

 “I think it’ll be fun. We both just want to play lacrosse because that’s what connects us.”