The Southlake Carroll Lacrosse program added a D2 team to their boys high school program this year. The growth in the sport's popularity continues in North Texas, as it has nationally at the collegiate, high-school and youth levels. Adding a D2 level team provided playing time, growth and game opportunities to more players.
The team was comprised of nearly equal amounts of Junior, Sophomores and Freshman players. The squad battled to gain some end of the season wins to even position themselves for playoff consideration.
The D2 Dragons, who ended with a 6-7 record, finished second in the West Varsity D2 Division behind 8-1 Colleyville. They earned wins in their final two games to keep their post-season hopes alive. They defeated Lovejoy (1-11 overall, 1-7 District) 16-8 and then overtook Keller's D2 squad (0-11, 0-9) 15-8 in their two final games.
With 21 teams in four divisions, the playoff teams were voted on by the area coaches. These wins positioned the Dragons to earn the needed votes for playoff consideration. The top 12 teams earned post-season playoff spots. The Dragons entered the playoffs as seed #11.
The D2 Dragons chances, heading into the playoffs, were dampened as several of their top players were moved onto the expanded Varsity roster near season's end. This left the remaining group with the challenge of going on the road to face #2-ranked Frisco. Frisco (7-1 District) whose only loss in the month was to a D1 Allen squad, defended their home field and ended the D2 Dragons' inaugural season with their 18-2 victory.
The late-season promotions also hindered the D2 Dragons in post-season recognition. League rules state that those players, despite contributing on the D2 squad for the majority of the season, became ineligible for any year-ending District D2 awards once they were placed on the Varsity roster. Plano and Rockwall lead the D2 teams with 7 players recognized for either All-State, All-District or Honorable Mention awards. Prosper, Highland Park, Plano and Colleyville each placed 5 players on those year-end lists. Southlake, along with Highland Park and The Woodlands, are the only Texas programs to field D1, D2 and JV squads.