Saying that the 2015 season was supposed to go a little differently for the Parkland boys lacrosse team is an understatement.

The Trojans fell to Easton 9-6 in the East Penn Conference title game, falling short of winning their third straight league title. Then less than a week later, Parkland was upset in the District 11 quarterfinals by Central Catholic.

"It was frustrating because I thought that we had the most talented team in the conference," said Parkland head coach Brad Schifko. "We lost some guys last year to graduation, and we were a young team still this year."

After a deflating loss like the one the Trojans suffered to Easton, there were concerns for a letdown in the next game. And with some of their defenders missing due to injury, the Trojans looked flat against the Vikings, trailing 3-0 before tying the game at 3-3. Then the Vikings had a six-goal third quarter.

"We started slow and I just felt nervous that would happen because of the Easton game," said Schifko. "[Erik] DiGirolamo, Stephen Chenworth and Blaise Fugazzotto were all out for the game and it got a little messy. They have a talented team over there and when we got it to overtime, it's just whoever scores first wins. And they got the goal."

Even with falling short of their perennial goals, it was not a lost season. Some younger players were able to get valuable experience for the future. And Schifko had contributions from some of his upperclassmen that helped fuel a run to the league title game.

Senior Mike Warg, who battled injuries all year, was the area leader in goals. Schifko also highlighted the play of sophomore Gavin Saylor in attack and his defense led by Fugazzotto, DiGirolamo and Bailey Rice, along with first-year goalie Joey Stevenson, who stepped in for All-Conference goalie Jameel Hadeed from 2014.

"We had some young guys get a lot of experience this year," said Schifko. "Ryan Geroulo, Dru Miller, Andy Alberson, Logan Barlok and Ian Haggerty all stepped up as underclassmen."

The good thing for the Trojans is they don't have to sit on this for long. A lot of the team plays during the summer for the Lehigh Valley Steam, for which Shifko is a co-founder. The Trojans also go through a strength and conditioning program in the summer before beginning offseason workouts when school begins in the fall.

Look for Parkland to be back where it was again in 2016, in the conference and district tournaments.