Bear River’s first-ever lacrosse coach — and the state’s winningest coach with a 74-2 career record and three consecutive state titles since 2022 — returned just two seniors from his latest championship roster. But the Bears have bolted to a 5-0 record this spring just the same.

Protecting the “sisterhood” — that’s the memo when trying out.

“It’s always team-first,” Webb said. “We preach it, we live it and if you want to play, you have to buy in. We get girls from other sports and they love it because it’s not the same.”

A unified practice structure and rigorous sub-varsity program haven’t just simplified expectations for returning and prospective varsity players, but created an unspoken pathway to winning that senior midfielder and reigning 4A MVP Shelby Wilkinson knows best.

Courtesty of Bear River High School

“When we work hard, we’re rewarded,” Wilkinson said. “It’s definitely been passed down from girls of previous years (and) now it’s an unspoken expectation. … The team has kept me here, just the culture and the love that we share, it makes it easy to come to practice every day.”

Wilkinson and senior Hadley Carrigan are the sole returning starters to Bear River, opening its Region 11 slate when hosting Mountain Crest on Wednesday to follow a perfect 20-0 campaign one year ago.

Last season saw Wilkinson, the younger sister of former Bears attacker Sydney Wilkinson, follow then-senior Jenna LaCroix’s 71 state-leading assists with 57 (2.85 per game) during her third season playing varsity lacrosse. Wilkinson currently leads Bear River, a program with six girls already with double-digit goal tallies, with 23 goals and nine assists.

“We’ve had a lot of girls leave and a lot of gaps to fill,” Wilkinson said. “It’s been satisfying to see all the girls that’ve come, stepped into the roles and work hard for the positions they’ve gotten. We’re still trying to find the perfect style of play for us, but we’re starting to see it come together.”

While the likes of Ella Criddle (19 goals), Jeanine Webb (11 goals), and Emma Kierstead (11 goals) are making exciting offensive contributions to begin the season, the true thrill comes on the defensive side where Bear River has allowed no more than four goals in any game thus far.

Courtesty of Bear River High School

Webb consistently reminds his teams at each level that defense brings the big bucks. Bear River’s younger, inexperienced defense is grasping his concepts, including the 10-man ride — similar to that of the full-court press in basketball — early on.

“We’re here to do things the right way,” Webb said. “If you can’t play defense, you can’t play for Bear River. That’s what I tell them all the time. It’s the relentless pursuit of the ball, and that it’s okay to make a mistake, but you do it full speed. We’re very young on defense, but they’re gravitating to the idea of how to play defense.”

Seven seniors left Wilkinson and Carrigan with the character and on-field communication skills to lift incoming talent once they hit the varsity field.

There’s no concern of seniority, Wilkinson stressed.

“I’ve never felt a barrier between the seniors and underclassmen,” Wilkinson said. “We know respect is earned and we all respect each other and how hard we work. … My teammates are always out there to help me (and) I work hard because they deserve it.”

At Webb’s direction, Bear River could have another state championship team on his hands — not that he’d sleep any worse without one. Webb never played lacrosse in high school but instead grasped the game through his love of coaching and building individuals through sports.

Players like Wilkinson are beginning to shape even the most uncertain of seasons, Webb said.

“I don’t think Shelby wants to be the best player in the world,” Webb said. “It’s Shelby saying, ‘I’m going to do my part and prepare myself so my team has a better chance of being successful.’ What I love about that is how much it rubs off on everyone else.

“This year she’s taking a much more vocal role (and) it’s been a game-changer for her and the rest of our team.”

Connect with sports reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.