Orangewood Christian School sisters bond over lacrosse

There’s a true sisterhood among the girls on the Orangewood Christian School girls lacrosse team — literally.

Nine girls on the varsity lacrosse squad make up four groups of sisters: Analeigh and Vivian Groomes; Libby, Mady and Emma Fowler; Hailey and Roxy Moore; and Peyton and Jordan Case.

It’s not often a team has so many family ties on the roster, Jordan Case said.

“We didn’t really think about it until somebody brought it up to us,” she said. “There’s no other team at Orangewood that has this many sisters on it, and it’s really cool. We’re one of a kind.”

Hailey Moore said playing lacrosse with her younger sister Roxy gives them a great opportunity to bond. 

“It’s awesome — we also play soccer together, and Roxy makes me laugh a lot,” Hailey said. “People point out how close we are and how much we make each other laugh. We’ve really connected throughout playing soccer and lacrosse.”

“I just like team bonding and getting close with the team and getting out on the field and just having a good time,” Roxy said.

Having a team full of sisters brings the group that much closer throughout the season — and makes them want to play that much harder for each other, Hailey said.

“We all have our own inside jokes with our sisters, but we’re such a close-knit team, and we’re all such good friends,” she said. “It’s a type of bonding we haven’t seen on the Orangewood lacrosse team in a long time — it helps us all connect as a team.”

Analeigh Groomes and her sister Vivian do cheer, lacrosse and soccer together. The two sisters always are giving each other feedback on the field and share a unique chemistry.

“If anything goes wrong, she always helps me,” Analeigh said. “If something happens, she’ll say, ‘Oh, you can fix it this way.’ We help each other out on the field.”

Mady and Libby Fowler have enjoyed watching their younger sister, Emma, take the field with them this year for the first time. The trio has become even closer as the season has gone on.

“(Libby and I) have been playing lacrosse together for a long time, and for our sister, Emma, this is her first year playing — helping her and teaching her has made it fun for both of us,” Mady said. “It’s been great. … We’re just teaching her step by step.”

Whether the team wins or loses, the sisters in red and white always have each other’s back, Libby said.

“We just come together as a team — win or lose,” she said. “The scoreboard doesn’t matter as long as we give it our all. We just leave everything out on the field. The scoreboard doesn’t define us as a team — our attitude toward each other defines us. Our team is like one big family.”