Beverly, Belmont victories highlight 2024 start

THE MELROSE High boy’s lacrosse team is off to a winning start with a 2-1 record following wins over Beverly and Belmont. (photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)

 

After press time: Melrose falls to Reading (April 11)


By JENNIFER GENTILE 

MELROSE—The Melrose High boy’s lacrosse team is off to a strong start with back-to-back wins to kick off their first week of play. The boys are 2-1 thanks to impressive wins against Beverly and Belmont, and a loss to Winchester at press time. 

Melrose opened their season on March 28 with an exciting 7-6 win on the road in Beverly, a team who enjoyed a 12-7 season last year. It’s always a unique rivalry and Melrose was more than prepared for the win despite the rain and cold. 

“This game was awesome, it was Michael Fuccione’s game,” says head coach Matt James, of his talented senior goalie. “He made several stops especially early that were very impressive and I’m not sure too many other goalies can or would make.” 

In the second half, Melrose defense really settled in. “Our defense really settled in and started playing well together, which was very similar to the Belmont game.” 

Melrose’s Max Kleinbub led in scoring and Colin Fahey had an outstanding game on offense.

Buoyed by the win, Melrose traveled to Belmont on April 2 and squeezed out a victory over their ML Large opponent, 12-11. They were led in scoring by Nick Hitchman, who tallied four goals, including the game winner. Noah Fay picked up the win at the net. Melrose’s Quinn Haggerty and Quinn Fogarty both had two goals, along with Luke DiMilla, who scored one. Earning their first goals as freshman were Milo Mujalli and Finn Alpers. 

“Belmont was very good. I think they will be a top 3 or 4 team in our league,” notes coach James. “I think the defense holding them scoreless for the final 18 minutes was incredibly impressive and Noah Fay [at net] had some very good saves to keep us in it.” 

Melrose showed tenacity in their play, rebounding from early scoring deficits. 

“The thing that keeps coming back to me is the poise for the guys,” says James. “Typically, we get tight and try to do too much. These guys decided to just stay the course, work the offense and be athletic.” 

Winning ground balls proved critical for Melrose in the second half. They grabbed every one in the second half, which saw great goals from Melrose’s Quinn Haggerty and Nick Hitchman. Says coach James, “Quinn and Nick had some extremely athletic goals that really lifted us. Milo Mujalli (defense) had his first goal on a great ground ball that led to transition and had another huge ground ball late in the fourth that led to the game winner.”

The coach credits his overall offensive efforts. Seven different scorers found the net, and overall, Nick Hitchman has led this season with 5 goals, while Max Kleinbub has 4 and Quinn Haggerty has 3.

Melrose is entering some classic rivalries this week and will face historically tough Reading and Winchester, and in that time coach James would like to focus on deepening their defense and offense. 

Says James, “The defense is pretty young and are learning to figure out how to play as a unit. We have a better idea of where our strengths and weaknesses are so we are going to keep building what we have and see how the next few weeks can go since we have a pretty challenging stretch. I’m really happy with the attitude of the team.”  

Look for Melrose to host North Andover on April 16 at 11:00 a.m.