FREEPORT — Excited, excelling, experienced and expecting.

All of those words aptly described the eight seniors on this spring's Freeport High School boys lacrosse team.

“Each year was a little better than the one before,” senior midfielder Luke Miller said. “This year was going to be the best.”

Only this year was not to be.

When the coronavirus outbreak forced the PIAA to cancel the 2020 spring sports season, it took away the season this senior group had been building for since they were 10 years old.

“We began this program with a youth team,” Freeport coach Dave Riley said. “Most of these seniors were on that first youth lacrosse squad at Freeport.

“They learned the game together. They progressed. This was going to be their year.”

The Yellowjackets' first season in WPIAL boys lacrosse was 2015. Their first trip to the WPIAL playoffs was in 2017, when these seniors were freshmen.

They picked up their first-ever playoff win during their sophomore season. Last year, Freeport entered the WPIAL playoffs as the No. 13 seed, upset Chartiers Valley 11-10 in overtime, then stunned third-seeded Moon 7-6 to reach the semifinals.

A loss to powerhouse Mars was followed by a 12-10 PIAA play-in defeat to Quaker Valley. The Yellowjackets ended the season at 10-10.

“These guys brought the program along,” Riley said. “We had some good sophomores coming in this spring. This team was going to be very, very good. It had a lot of potential.”

Miller and midfielder Garret Schaffhauser were going to be team captains this year. Both are headed to Slippery Rock University, will play club soccer there and room together.

Schaffhauser plans to major in physical therapy, Miller in safety management.

“Our run in the playoffs last year is something I'll always remember,” Schaffhauser said. “We were planning to build on that.”

Schaffhauser scored between 35 and 40 goals last season. He netted most of the tallies in the season-ending loss to Quaker Valley.

A three-sport athlete — playing football and basketball as well — Schaffhauser figured to be the team's leading scorer this spring.

“He's an outstanding athlete,” Riley said. “Garret piles up a lot of assists as well.”

Joining Miller and Schaffhauser as seniors on the team this spring would have been defenders Hunter Turner, Brodey Woods, Max Selinger, Josh Bollinger and Kai Sosa, and attacker Carter Dougherty.

“Carter was being groomed to be our second-leading goal scorer and take some pressure off Garret,” Riley said.

Woods was joining the team for the first time this year. Miller was the Yellowjackets' top face-off man. Miller, Woods, Bollinger, Sellinger and Dougherty all played football as well.

“We're all a pretty tight group,” Miller said. “We were looking forward to going out and making more history this year.

“Lacrosse is my main sport. I'm sure I'll play for the (SRU) club team. I'm not ready to give it up.”

Schaffhauser described not playing lacrosse this spring as “depressing.”

Riley said the cancellation of the season “was very emotional and tough for me as a coach and friend to most of these young men.

“All had a legitimate opportunity to be All-Section and All-WPIAL this year. I wish this group of young men nothing but the best in their future endeavors.”