North girls lacrosse captains Avery Byard, Riley Lutz celebrate milestones together

It was a play North Hagerstown girls lacrosse captains Avery Byard and Riley Lutz made look like they've done it a thousand times before — probably because they have in their eight years playing together.

On a restart from behind the Baltimore Poly goal, Byard passed to Lutz and quickly made a cut to the front of the goal. Lutz's return pass to Byard was on the mark, and Byard's shot found the net for her fourth and final goal of Thursday's game at Callas Stadium, giving the Hubs a 12-9 lead late in the fourth quarter of what would become a 12-10 victory.

"Lots of times every game, it's like we have twin telepathy," Byard said. "We're connected, and we know what the other one is going to do."

It's no wonder. Byard and Lutz, both seniors, have been good friends since they were in preschool, growing up on the same street. Lutz got Byard into lacrosse when both were in fourth grade, and the pair have been playing on teams together ever since.

Last week, Byard reached 100 high school goals during a four-goal performance against Tuscarora. Two days later against Baltimore Poly, Lutz reached 100 high school goals with her third and final tally, late in the third quarter. To date, they have combined for 205 goals in their time with the Hubs.

"They've been such good leaders. … I think it's the love of the game," said North coach Rick Aleshire. "They love the game of lacrosse, and I think that's where it comes from, the passion they have — and, of course, being good friends."

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Learning to love lacrosse

Lutz caught the lacrosse bug first.

"My older sister started out in our local rec league, HAYLA, and I actually started playing before I was technically old enough to," Lutz said. "I was able to get on the rec team and have been playing since I was in first grade. My family has been very present through HAYLA, so we stuck with that through elementary and middle school.

"What I love about the game is everyone can get their hands on the ball, and it's so inclusive to everyone. You just pick up a stick, learn how to catch and throw, and from that basis you learn to love the game."

A couple years after starting her own lacrosse journey, Lutz got Byard into it, and the friends have played together ever since.

"I started all because of Riley. She was the one who motivated me to play lacrosse," Byard said. "She got me interested in it. We would play in her front yard — she had a goal — and it was really fun just learning with her. I started playing eight years ago, and we've been playing together all that time on the same teams."

"We've both gone through spurts where something just clicks, and we're really able to build off of that with each other," Lutz said. "We've been best friends since preschool, so we've always had that connection with each other, but starting that (lacrosse) foundation in elementary and middle school and building it through high school has been so special."

The goals came early and often at North

As freshmen on the Hubs' 2021 team, Byard and Lutz each earned all-county honorable mention, putting them among the top 18 county players.

As sophomores, Byard had 31 goals and 46 draw controls, Lutz added 26 goals, a county-best 22 assists and 26 draw controls, and both made the all-county first team.

As juniors, Byard had 38 goals, 11 assists, 54 draw controls, 33 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers, while Lytz added 39 goals, 25 assists, 35 ground balls, 33 draw controls and 12 caused turnovers as both made the all-county first team again.

"It's been so fun to see how both of us have progressed," Lutz said. "Avery is the most hardworking person that I know. She goes to the YMCA every day. She plays wall ball every day for hours. She sends me these videos and says, 'Let's try this.' She's so eager to do all these new things."

Celebrating 100 goals together

When Byard scored her 100th high school goal against Tuscarora, it was no surprise what her immediate reaction was.

"As soon as I got it, I was looking for Riley to (celebrate with)," Byard said. "Same with when she scored (against Baltimore Poly). I was so happy for her."

As were the rest of the Hubs. As soon as Lutz made a move toward the goal and scored to give North a 9-7 lead late in the third quarter, every Hub on the field ran to Lutz to celebrate.

"Honestly, I didn't think I would be emotional because of it, but once we all got into a clump and were all jumping up and down and cheering, I just felt so overwhelmed by the amount of love," Lutz said. "I know my whole family has been doing a countdown to my 100th goal, so it's been exciting to fulfill that and make everyone proud."

Team success makes it sweeter

About a half-hour later, the Hubs were celebrating their first win of the season.

"This game will be a really good shift in momentum and such a good confidence boost for us," Lutz said. "We see how we can click as a defense, how we operate as an offense. We know our strengths and our weaknesses, but seeing it all play out on the field, seeing our successes, I think that will be really helpful for us moving forward."

"This is huge for their confidence, a huge boost for us," Aleshire said. "We've been playing well all year. We played a great game against Tuscarora and the score didn't show it, but I thought they played quite well."

North has eight more regular-season games left to play this season, plus at least one playoff game. There are more goals to celebrate, and likely more wins for the Hubs to enjoy, before the final curtain closes on their playing days together.

"I'm kind of sad because I don't want to stop playing with Riley," Byard said. "She is very dedicated and inspiring. She inspires me every day."

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: North Hagerstown's Avery Byard, Riley Lutz celebrate 100 career goals