This isn't exactly the start to the season Carl Kielbasa had in mind.

The Brentsville District boys lacrosse team lost its second senior specialist of the pre-season this past Monday. With seven seconds remaining in regulation during a home scrimmage against Seton, one of the Tigers' senior attackers fell on his wrist so hard he required an ambulance transport from the Nokesville Volunteer Fire and Rescue station.

Combined with a prior injury to a standout defender, Kielbasa said he's now organizing a team without two of his top three players, who he said played "pure" offense and defense.

Despite the injuries and a 10-8 loss to visiting Seton, Brentsville has one significant strength entering the season: it's depth chart. That means a fourth-year players like captains Tyler Robb and Kurt Wall will be counted on more so than ever to provide on-field leadership for the Tigers.

Kielbasa explained that for Robb, that's a natural roll.

"He runs the offense," said the coach, comparing the senior to a quarterback.

Meanwhile, Wall leads by example with the second-year coach hailing his fundamentals and technical ability.

"One thing about this team," said Kielbasa, "(is) they really look out for each other."

Brentsville also returns junior goal keeper Austin Messich, who started for Kielbasa in his first year coaching the team. Instead of hazing or other earn-your-stripes rituals, Kielbasa mentioned that the older guys on the squad welcome rookies and newcomers "like family."

"This is the absolute opposite here," he said.

He specially mentioned sophomore midfielder Zach Martin as someone whose skills developed dramatically from last season, in part due to a "very positive environment" created by the upperclassmen.

With the Brentsville lacrosse program entering its fifth year of existence, Kielbasa said this is "really the year where we'd see the fruits of our labor." After years of hovering around the .500 mark, the head coach said he had about 10 members that played club or travel lacrosse in the off season, which is "more than usual."

As for his approach to the season given the early injuries, Kielbasa simply said he wanted to take the season one game at a time.

"It's a work in progress," he said.