Carson Lewis was voted Suffolk News-Herald Player of the Week after scoring a goal for the Lady Cavaliers in their region win over Hopewell High School.

For the second year in a row under Coach Jamee Albright, the Lakeland High School field hockey team earned a postseason berth. Lakeland played Hopewell in a first-round Class 3A region matchup, which saw the Lady Cavs earn a shutout win. In a 2-0 victory, Lewis was able to earn her first playoff goal, which helped result in a win for Lakeland.

“I felt like I played a decent game out there,” Lewis said. “There are definitely things I needed to work on, but overall I think I played pretty well.”

Lakeland went on to compete in the regional semifinals but took a loss there. Despite the loss, they also advanced to the Class 3 state tournament before falling in the quarterfinal game. That ended a strong freshman season for Lewis, who had seen her first full season of varsity action.

“I feel like I had a good season,” Lewis said. “I definitely had games where I just didn’t play well, but I always tried my best to improve in the next game.”

With her being a freshman, growing pains were to be expected, especially playing in the Southeastern District. The district is top-heavy, and Lewis getting a chance to play against those teams helped her progress through the season and will be beneficial for her in the future. She was able to accumulate a couple of goals as a freshman but primarily was a defender for the Lady Cavs.

“It was challenging at first, because we started out playing all of the tough teams,” she said. “As we continued to practice and started to grow as a team, the adjustment started to become easier. My team is very encouraging, so that helped me play better in the tougher games against the bigger schools.”

Lewis believes this season gave her a chance to go into the offseason, working harder since she knows what to expect. She is always looking to be the best player she can be, which helped her stand out in her first season on varsity. She is motivated most by her family. On the sidelines, they cheer for her, and they are her biggest supporters, which gives her the push she needs to play better.

While making the transition this season, Lewis also gives credit to her coach, Jamee Albright, who is an alumna of Lakeland. Lewis has been learning a lot from her coach, who is not that far removed from playing competitive field hockey herself.

“It’s been amazing playing for her because she interacts with us really well,” Lewis said. “Because she just got done playing in college, she knows exactly how to fix her plays and what we need to work on.”

Lewis is looking forward to building on her freshman season next year.