When they talk about their Greely girls’ lacrosse team, seniors Eva Williams and Asja Kelman sound like coaches.

“Every single day, these girls show up and put in so much effort. Like (last Wednesday) was a practice full of sprints and hustling. The day before that, we had a full play day with two full games. We had a game today,” Williams said following exhibition game last Thursday against Gorham at the University of Southern Maine. “There’s just so much effort and power and community on this team.”

Last season, the Rangers won their second straight Class B state championship, defeating Brunswick, 14-2. Unlike last season, though, the Rangers have some big holes to fill because of graduation losses.

“You can’t rely on what you’ve done in the past. You have to look at the team you have now and build off that,” said Kelman, Greely’s lone returning all-Western Maine Conference selection. “We didn’t have the luxury of having all of our players come back this year. We just have to readjust and become the team that can win it all again.”

Greely won titles in 2022 and 2023 with largely the same roster.

Williams and Kelman sound like coaches because they’re vocal senior leaders who know the game and how the Rangers want to compete. That leadership should help alleviate the pressure that comes with being a two-time defending state champion.

“There can be (pressure). But everyone on our team is just so coachable. From teammate to teammate, we’re always listening to each other. Everybody’s always communicating,” Kelman said. “So while there’s pressure, we just have to take it one game at a time.”

Greely girls’ lacrosse players walk off the field after playing Kennebunk on April 16 in Cumberland. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Coach Becca Koelker said the Rangers are a work in progress, but she is pleased with the effort she’s seen so far.

“They have been going at it every day, just not letting up. What I love seeing from them is, we’re giving them the coaching pieces and they’re immediately putting it to work,” Koelker said. “We have to learn more than we did last year and catch them up more than we did last year, but they’re taking everything and putting it into practice right away. That’s really encouraging to see.”

Last season, the Rangers entered the season ready to contend. This season, Koelker is looking for steady progress and improvement. Greely graduated three all-conference players, as well as a pair of honorable mention selections.

“We had some veteran attackers last year that really anchored our offense,” she said. “Obviously, losing Charlotte Taylor and Allie Read in the midfield, they were crucial in every part of our game, so those are big losses.

“I’m encouraged by what I see here, and we’ll be a different team at the end of the season than we are right now.”

Playing attack or midfield, Kelman is the top returning scorer, with 45 goals last season. A midfielder, Williams missed last season because of a knee injury but scored 27 goals as a sophomore in 2022. Seniors Kylie Crocker, Katie Dubbert and Maggie Jacobson lead the defense. Juniors Jane Flynn and Kylie Lord combined for 22 goals last season and will see bigger roles on attack.

The schedule will be tough. The Rangers dropped a 15-4 decision to defending Class A champion Kennebunk in the season opener Tuesday. On Friday, Greely plays at Freeport, which won the Class C title last season. Greely has games later in the season against strong opponents like Marshwood, Falmouth, Waynflete and Yarmouth.

That tough schedule will be a good thing in the long run, Koelker said.

“Starting right out with a bang. We always just focus on the process. It’s not really the outcome for us. Did we get better today? What can we take from it, so that by the end of the season we’re the best we can be,” she said.

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