Junior midfielder Mikayla Williams undoubtedly will be the focus of opposing defenses when battling the Bexley girls lacrosse team.

After the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out her freshman season, Williams started her prep career last spring by setting the program record for goals in a season with 96. She also had 28 assists and 66 ground balls.

Those statistics led her to being named first-team all-state and all-region in Division II as well as MSL-Ohio Division Player of the Year and first-team all-CIL.

“Mikayla is really a dynamic player and extremely talented,” second-year coach Jackie Lund said. “She’s strong under pressure, and she’s able to take control when she needs to.

“Her biggest advantage is her body control and her ability to adjust. She plays so cleanly and is in control of her body. She rarely fouls or plays in a reactive way. She’s always one or two steps ahead of opponents.”

Williams was bitten by the lacrosse bug at an early age, and she hasn’t slowed down since.

“I was in the first grade, and I liked the way it clicked and I liked the way the game was played,” she said. “I like the friendships that you make, meeting people from all over the country. You get to play with really good people and learn new things.”

Finding the back of the net didn’t come naturally for Williams, who said it takes practice and repetition to be a go-to scorer.

“You have to be patient and take your time (to score),” Williams said. “You can keep missing the goal, but you can’t get mad. You have to keep aiming for one specific place. You get there after a lot of practice and focus.”

Notebook: Navy recruit Mikayla Williams anchors offense for Bexley Lions

March 24, 2022 Scott Hennen

The Bexley boys lacrosse team dealt with an early exposure to COVID-19 but still is working toward a record season.

The Lions were 7-4 before playing Buckeye Valley on May 6. They last had seven victories in 2017, when they finished 7-9. They also were 7-10 in both 2012 and 2013 and went 8-9 in 2016.

Bexley has been competing since 2007 and the program’s only winning record was in 2011 when the Lions finished 9-7.

“It’s been a while since we won this many (seven) games,” first-year coach Mike Bassani said. “We had the issue with COVID, but I don’t think that slowed us down. I think the kids are used to the on-again, off-again nature of sports this school year.

“When (the exposure to COVID-19) happens, it comes upon you very quickly. Then you wait and wait and wait until you can get back at it. These guys were ready.”

Bassani points to his defense — which features juniors Elliot Goldman and Kaelen Mathews and sophomores Bennett Bloebaum and Max Esque along with senior goalie Tyler Owens-Terwilliger — as one of the key components to the team’s success. 

“We’re good at the defensive end, but we’re also young,” Bassani said. “It all starts in goal with Tyler, who has a 63.0 save percentage, which is very good.

“We ask Elliot to do a lot for us. He faces off for us, he’s a long-pole midfielder and takes on the other team’s best player. He does so much.”

Senior midfielder Matt Cohn led the offensive attack through 10 games with 14 goals and nine assists. Other top scorers were junior midfielder Bennett Bartz (16 goals, 5 assists) and sophomore attackers Seth Rosenberg (10 goals, 2 assists) and Tate Stark (8 goals, 2 assists).

“We’re excited for the postseason, sitting at 7-4 (before May 6),” Bassani said. “We’re in the home stretch of the regular season, and we’re looking to finish strong. I think we’ll surprise people.”

Notebook: Bexley Lions Boys Lacrosse team inches toward record season

May 7, 2021 Scott Hennen

Notebook: Bexley Lions girls lacrosse team tackling ‘every challenge’

April 19, 2021 Scott Hennen

The Bexley Girls Lacrosse team got out to a fast start despite the small numbers in the program.

The Lions were 4-1 after a 16-12 loss to Watterson on April 13. They edged Columbus Academy 14-13 on April 8 on a goal by Mikayla Williams as time expired.

“We’re working on jelling as a team,” coach Jackie Lund said. “Because we’re shorter in numbers, we’re asking a lot of our girls, and they’ve risen to every challenge. We also have had some additional injuries, so we were only able to play our varsity game versus Academy last week, but we were able to close it out in the final 15 seconds of the game.”

Bexley started by defeating Hilliard Davidson 14-7 on March 23 and Pickerington North 15-12 on March 30. The Lions also defeated Westerville Central 18-13 on April 12.

“Our standouts on varsity so far have been Mikayla Williams, who leads the team in goals, and Grace Heilman, whose speed on the field has paid off countless times with goals, assists and fast-breaks,” Lund said. “Because of injuries, Kara Kilbourne has been asked to step up from j.v. and help lead our varsity defense. Goalie Molly Esque has more than 50 percent saves on the season and has been an instrumental on our defensive end.”

Williams led the Lions with 27 goals and five assists through five games, while Heilman had 19 goals and three assists and Emma Magee had seven goals and two assists.

•The Bexley Boys lacrosse team, which missed time because of exposure to COVID-19, returned to action April 13 with a 13-4 loss to Academy to drop to 3-1.

In their previous game, the Lions had defeated Licking Valley 11-8 on March 30. 

“Something clicked in the fourth quarter of that (Licking Valley) game,” coach Mike Bassani said. “We scored six goals in the quarter to pull away and win 11-8. I felt like that would be a turning point for us, especially offensively.

“Unfortunately, we were shut down the day after that game because of COVID exposure. We lost a week due to the team quarantine and then had another week of practice.”

Through four games, Bennett Bartz had seven goals and two assists and Matt Cohn had four goals and five assists. Goalie Tyler Owens-Terwilliger had 34 saves.