MICDS senior twins Luke and Caroline Koman have much more in common than a birthday.
Both will attend the University of North Carolina, both are captains of their respective lacrosse teams, and both drive their parents crazy with their passion for the sport.
“We pass the (lacrosse) ball in the house. Our mom gets mad. She thinks we’re going to break stuff,” Caroline said.
“Two delinquents, as our parents say,” Luke said.
Caroline, the all-time leading scorer for MICDS girls lacrosse, will lead the Rams (13-2) into their 13th consecutive Missouri Scholastic Lacrosse Association semifinal when they face Eureka (15-2) at 7 p.m. Thursday at Missouri Baptist University.
Luke, who changed his team’s fortunes by changing positions, will lead 12-time state champion MICDS (12-4) into the MSLA Class 2 boys title game against CBC (16-2) at 7 p.m. Friday at MoBap.
Caroline Koman established herself as a prolific goal scorer early in her MICDS career by scoring 60 goals as a sophomore before leading all St. Louis-area players with 86 goals as a junior.
“She has a quick jab step, and she knows how to protect her stick,” MICDS coach Kate Haffenreffer said.
With defenses determined to take away her space this season, Caroline has dished out a career-high 30 assists to rank sixth in the metro area.
“She has a great understanding of where she is at X (behind the cage). She knows when to split the defense herself and when she can draw the double (team) and dish it off. She has been awesome for us,” Haffenreffer said.
Luke sees another quality that drives his sister’s success.
“It’s her confidence and the way she takes over a game,” he said. “She’s not afraid to go to the goal. If they’re down by two or three goals, she’s putting her head down and going to the crib.”
At the Koman crib, Luke is the catalyst who organizes meetings at the lacrosse goal in the backyard. Caroline plays offense, Luke plays defense and their father Jim stands in goal.
“It’s a whole family thing,” Caroline said. “We rotate off different drills. Luke will feed me at the side of the cage and then I’ll feed him. We play different positions which helps us practice together.”
Luke is a talented goal-scorer in his own right. He scored 10 goals in the Rams’ first six games this season, including a hat trick against Kirkwood and a four-goal outburst against SLUH on April 2. But with the team struggling with wing play and in need of short stick midfielders, coach Andy Kay had a sit-down meeting with Luke midway through the season.
“When a teenager hears, ‘Your job is not to put the ball in the net anymore,’ 90 percent would walk away feeling sorry for themselves,” Kay said. “But that’s why he was voted captain, mostly because of his selflessness.”
Luke arrived at practice the next day proudly wearing the black jersey of the MICDS defensive unit and has helped solidify a group that has surrendered only nine total goals in playoff wins over De Smet and SLUH.
“I just want to play whatever role I can to help the team. I think that’s what separates us from other teams is that everyone is willing to play their part and not get their own,” Luke said.
Caroline sees another aspect to her brother’s success.
“He puts in so much time and effort. His trains so hard and has improved so much,” she said.
But does Luke feel just a little bit jealous that his twin sister scores so many goals?
“I mean, I’m sure he does,” Caroline said with a laugh.
Both Caroline and Luke believe that surprising, midseason losses helped their teams focus on weaknesses and become stronger as a group. For Caroline, a 12-10 loss at Ladue on April 23 brought the team closer together.
“That was a reset for us. The way we’ve been playing recently is more as a team and that has been our focus,” she said.
Game story from MICDS vs Ladue- April 25, 2025 https://metrosportsstl.com/2025/04/24/dodson-sabin-score-late-as-ladue-hands-top-ranked-micds-first-loss-of-season/
A 13-10 loss to CBC on May 1 dropped MICDS into the No. 2 seed entering the postseason and will force the Rams to play the state championship game in rare road jerseys.
“We lost that game mostly because of our team chemistry. We definitely have the talent, we just weren’t playing together as a team,” Luke said. “Over the past few weeks, we’ve really come together as a team, putting the pieces together, and here we are.”
Game story from CBC vs MICDS- May 1, 2025: https://metrosportsstl.com/2025/05/02/cbc-races-past-micds-to-earn-program-defining-victory/
Both Luke and Caroline will attend the University of North Carolina, a place where their father Jim Koman and grandfather Bill Koman played college football. Luke is recruited as a 2026 lacrosse player for the Tar Heels and Caroline will look into playing club lacrosse there.
But before they wear the Carolina blue, both hope the Spartan blue of Missouri Baptist University will provide the backdrop for more high school memories.
“It would be pretty cool if we both could win it this year,” Luke said.
Photos from the MSLA girls and boys lacrosse season can be found at benvessa.smugmug.com
State Lacrosse schedule (all games at Missouri Baptist University)
Wednesday, May 21 – 7 pm
MSLA Class 1 boys lacrosse state championship: No. 1 Wentzville (13-5) vs. No. 2 Parkway South (10-7).
Thursday, May 22 – 5:30 pm
MSLA girls lacrosse state semifinal 1: No. 1 John Burroughs (16-1) vs No. 5 Cor Jesu (14-5)
Thursday, May 22 – 7 pm
MSLA girls lacrosse state semifinal 2: No. 2 MICDS (13-2) vs. No. 3 Eureka (15-2)
Friday, May 23 – 7 pm
MSLA Class 2 boys lacrosse championship: No. 1 CBC (16-2) vs. No. 2 MICDS (12-4)
Saturday, May 24 – 11 am
MSLA girls lacrosse 3rd place game
Saturday, May 24 – 1 pm
MSLA girls lacrosse championship game
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