After a year off, wins still coming easy
Published May 14, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—A lot of things have changed in the 700 plus days that the Melrose High Red Raider lacrosse team has competed as a team. But one thing that remains familiar to local fans are wins. Melrose returned to its 2021 spring season in full glory last week with twin victories of 18-0 over Stoneham to begin their season off 2-0. The Red Raiders start anew with sophomores who are now seniors, a strange but surprising concept for Melrose head coach Matt James.
When we last left Melrose high boy’s lacrosse, they were 12-5 and duking it out in the 2019 Div. 2 North semifinals against eventual state champion Winchester. A lot of time has passed, a lot of ground to make up, but their senior captains are ready for the challenge. Leading the squad are a group of four seniors whose lacrosse experience runs deep. Will Brandon, Matt Dussault, Brendan Fennell and Ryan Maher will lead Melrose in their 2021 campaign and according to coach James, they’ve already made an impact.
“Losing a whole season last year was tough, but we’re in a good position right now and it’s because of these guys,” says coach James. “This is a group that I’ve coached through middle school, so we are all familiar with each other. These are honest, smart kids who are super focused. There is a lot of trust having them out there.”
Despite losing a year of lacrosse, much of this team returns in great lacrosse shape. Credit goes to off-season club training that has kept Melrose sharp. “With no football season over last fall, a lot of my players competed in fall club lacrosse and I’m already seeing great improvement in them,” says James, who also notes returning underclassmen have had growth spurts in two years. “This team always manages to surprise me. I have players who last competed for me at 5’2 who are now 5’11.”
Melrose opened their season against Stoneham last week in back-to-back matchups both on the road and at home. Melrose beat the Spartans 18-0 in both games. Despite the uneven match up, it gave James an idea of strengths on the field. Melrose defense was simply blistering, not allowing Stoneham to get a shot on goal on Saturday at Fred Green Field, thanks in part to the work of senior captain Ryan Maher, Anthony DelGenio, Jake Rowe and goalie Frank Capaldo at the net.
“It might take a while for us to be challenged against playoff-ready teams, given the makeup of the league schedule,” James notes of the competition. Melrose will play consecutive games against Freedom League teams—Stoneham, Burlington, Wakefield, Wilmington, Watertown—until playoffs start in June. “But we’re excited that there will be both the Middlesex League ‘ML12’ tournament and state tournament play.”
No doubt Melrose would like to make some noise, and they certainly have attackers on hand for it. Against Stoneham, junior standout Liam Maher showcased some jaw-dropping skills. The UMass Amherst-recruit scored 4 goals and is expected to be a division leader. “Liam committed to Div. 1 ball last year. He will join his brother Brendan Maher playing there,” says James. “Liam is a very special and unique player. He’s incredibly fast, he’s just the total package. He, along with Brendan Fennell and Brady Pitcher, I think will prove to be some of the most elite players in the division. They are going to put scores on the board for us.”
While this is a junior and senior heavy team, so far the seniors are making up for lost time. As expected, senior captain Matt Dussault (a Union College commit) looks commanding. James refers to him as, “One of the best top 10 players in the state.” And he’s also thrilled with the overall play of senior Jake Rowe. “Right now he’s the most dominant player on the field. He’s having a big start to the season.”
It was a scoring bonanza against the Spartans on Saturday. Senior captain Brendan Fennell had three goals and 4 assists. Tom Pino, a Malden Catholic transfer, lobbed in three goals, already making an impact on the team. Meanwhile, junior Shea Fogarty is producing a workman like effort. “He’s playing awesome,” says his coach. “I think Shea was out there running around 46 straight minutes.”
Brady Pitcher, meanwhile, had three goals in the game on Saturday, which helped Melrose take a 13-0 lead into the third. Says James, “Brady is a great player. Reminds me a lot of [former Raider] Jack Wells.” Melrose also enjoyed goals from Liam Whelan and Brian Healey. And the game allowed younger players such as Jamie Haggerty and Pat Lucien get in some face-off work.
Coach James is pleasantly surprised with his underclassmen. “I also have players like Max Kirby and Jamie Haggerty who grew so much in two years it was hard to recognize them. Some kids who weren’t old enough to play in 2019 are making great impressions. We also have players like Steven Fogarty [2 goals] and Dan Dussault who are more than ready for varsity minutes.”
Meanwhile, the league looks as familiar as ever. Melrose will see the meat of the competition in the ML tournament next month. As always, look for Winchester and Reading to be as stacked as ever.
Says Coach James, “We have some elite talent on this team and I think other teams will gun for us. We want an extended season. These kids will play deep into June. They just want to go as far as we can.”
