Even the most cockeyed optimist would be hard pressed to describe the 2016 season as anything but disappointing for the Gilman lacrosse team.
First came a succession of non-league losses to Washington, D.C, Tidewater Virginia and Philadelphia area rivals before bowing to its first two Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference foes Severn School and Loyola Blakefield.
Some teams saddled with an 0-9 start might have simply given up on the season or given in to self pity.
Credit Gilman coach Brooks Matthews for not allowing the Greyhounds to embrace either option, and to the team for fighting back with all of its resources to split its next four conference games.
Even at 2-11, Matthews sees positives for a squad that should be significantly better next season, considering the team's youth.
For instance, six of the goals scored by Gilman in a 7-5 victory over Archbishop Spalding were produced either by junior midfielders Wade Oursler, Woody Kelly and Dylan Byrd or sophomore middies Piper Bond and Jeremy Cranston.
There was a similar trend in a 13-6 loss to Calvert Hall when Oursler, Kelly, junior attackman Johnny Shapiro and freshman midfielder Andy Andrews did all of the scoring.
Moreover, junior Sam Tirone has taken over in the goal, giving the backline a younger flair as well.
Of the non-seniors, though, Oursler, a reserve defensive back on the school's top-ranked football team, leads the pack with his steady — and heady — play.
In the win over Spalding, with the Cavaliers on a three-goal run that cut the Greyhounds' lead to 6-4 with five minutes remaining in regulation, Oursler made the kind of move that winning teams must have in those situations.
After Gilman gained possession, Oursler, running at top speed, cradled the ball parallel to the restraining line while being closely shadowed by a defender before darting quickly toward the goal. When an adjacent longstick hesitated for a split second to slide his way, Oursler dodged past him and fired a one-hopper past the Cavalier goalie to give his team some much-needed breathing room.
"The whole game, they were sliding early," the Air Force Academy commit said. "This time, the slide was a little late and it opened up for me."
After the teams traded goals before Tirone's high-to-high save on a Spalding attackman all alone on the doorstep gave Gilman a final possession, the Greyhounds held on for the win with Oursler running out the game's final 30 seconds with the ball in his stick while being hotly pursued by Cavalier defenders.
"For someone who has played and coached on this field for a long time, it was great to see a high-bouncer go in," said a relieved Matthews after the victory.
That it was Oursler who went old-school with the pivotal shot and why his coach demanded that he carry the ball as the game ended is hardly surprising, given his personality and preparation to make the most of critical moments.
"Wade works really hard on his game and that last goal is a good example of that," Matthews added. "We wanted him to have the ball in that situation because he's a talented player and someone we trust. And he cares a lot."
Oursler said that practices have become more intense now that the team is healthy again.
"There' has been a lot more discipline in practices," said Oursler, who has 26 goals and eight assists this season. "The coaches have been trying to get our heads on straight. That's one of the reasons we're coming together."
The aforementioned health issue is another.
As many as 10 Greyhounds were sidelined by an illness that went through the team on a spring break trip to Virginia Beach.
Senior longstick midfielder Hunter Flaks and Kelly also missed enough games from injuries to affect the team, Oursler said.
Even though the Greyhounds are healthy again, Matthews knows that it will be an uphill battle to qualify for the playoffs with only four conference games remaining.
"We're fighting to just keep getting better," he said. "We love playing in this league."