Front row, from left: Ryley Fischer, Kylee Clark, Rylee Preston, Julia Chapin, Bella Wissler and Sydney Dann. Back row, from left: Assistant coach Josh Dann, Alexandria LaDue, Hannah Bradley, Erica Swirsky, Katherine Broderick, Lydia Bullock, Mistre Newtown and head coach Shannon Muldowney. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

SARANAC LAKE — Numbers-wise, it will be a challenging season for the Saranac Lake girls lacrosse team, as the Red Storm heads into Section X schedule with no substitutes. Despite the small roster, second-year head coach Shannon Muldowney has reason for optimism, as long as her young squad can stay healthy.

All but two of the student-athletes on Saranac Lake’s 12-player roster were on the varsity squad last spring, and that number includes freshman Lydia Bullock and junior Ryley Fischer, who combined to score 50 goals a season ago. Bullock led the way with 30 goals and Fischer found the back of the net 20 times.

Fischer will captain the team along with junior Julia Chapin. Hannah Bradley, Kylee Clark, Mistre Newton and Erica Swirsky are Saranac Lake’s other juniors back with another year of varsity lacrosse under their belts.

The six juniors represent half of the Red Storm, with the rest of the lineup featuring freshmen and seventh- and eighth-graders. Bella Wissler, a seventh-grader, and eighth-grader Sydney Dann are the two new players on the team.

Two players Saranac Lake will need to replace are Aurelle Fogarty, the only graduate from last year’s team, and Lindsey Rath, who has been a key contributor on the Red Storm since she was an eighth-grader. The three-sport junior has dealt with multiple injuries from soccer and basketball and will not play lacrosse this spring.

Rylee Preston joins Bullock as Saranac Lake’s ninth-grade players, and Katherine Broderick and Alexandria LaDue are back as eighth-graders.

When is comes to experience in nets, the Red Storm has plenty of it as Swirsky returns for her third season as the team’s starting goalie.

During the preseason, Muldowney said she is pleased with players’ attitudes and likes the way they have meshed.

“Despite the lack of subs, the team’s morale is inspiring this year. The older girls on the team have done a great job motivating and encouraging the team to work hard and to work together,” Muldowney said. “Our team is comprised of girls age 12 to 17, but you’d never know the gap by the way they play lacrosse and interact together. The girls have already shown that they are a unit.

“We have changed some of our strategy this year to successfully manage full games without subs, but instead of going into detail on that, we are going to leave it to the other teams to figure out for themselves.”