Warriors roll to 14-2 triumph in Lavalle debut
By DAN BYRNE
WAKEFIELD — While everyone was hoping they had seen the last of a long winter, the snow was flying yet again on Saturday morning at Landrigan
NEW WMHS boys’ lacrosse head coach Andrew Lavalle earned a victory in his debut for the Warriors. Wakefield routed Austin Prep by a 14-2 score on Saturday at Landrigan Field.
(Donna Larsson Photo)
Field as the Wakefield Memorial High School varsity boys’ lacrosse team opened its spring season against Austin Prep.
Despite battling the Cougars and the elements, Wakefield was in fine form from the opening face-off.
It was the perfect start to the season for first year head coach, Andrew Lavalle, as he watched his team take care of business of its opponent by a 14-2 final score.
Wakefield got four goals and one assist from MJ Urbano and three goals from Andrew DeLeary. Bryan Noyes, Pat Leary, and Brandon Grinnell had two goals apiece and Vin Ferretti had one goal to account for the Warriors scoring.
“(Winning) Feels good,” Coach Lavalle said in the on field post game interview.
The coach liked what he saw from the Warriors, as a 1-0 lead after one quarter became a blow-out in the second quarter. The Warriors netted six second quarter goals, while shooting 6-for-6 and allowed Austin Prep just one goal.
“We shot 100 percent in the second quarter, that’s big time,” Coach Lavalle said.
The snow continued to fall as the Warriors took a 7-1 lead into the halftime break.
Wakefield didn’t let off the gas after halftime, as the Warriors continued to pour it on, scoring five more times without conceding.
At 12-1 after three quarters, the result was assured with one quarter to play.
In the fourth, Wakefield conceded the first goal but proceeded to find the net two more times, completing the 14-2 victory.
After the game the coach commented on what he saw, “On the offensive side we saw a lot of patience, waiting for our shots. We were really looking for the shots and we got the shots we wanted to take. MJ was lighting off bombs the whole time and the DeLeary kid has a hose; in man up he was awesome to see.”
The coach went on to comment about his defense saying, “On the defensive side we came out physical and aggressive. That’s exactly how I want to play. (The) Ground balls were all ours, every time we (were) down to the defensive side we were ready to go. It was nice.
“We got a big physical game from Dylan Brady and Steve Marino really matched up well against their middies.”
He was specifically impressed with his defense’s ability to lockdown the AP middies.
“They had good, physical middies,” Lavalle said.
Another of the standout players for Wakefield was goalie Alex Flynn.
“Alex Flynn played on his head the whole game,” Coach Lavalle said. “You saw the score but it would have been a lot different if Flynn hadn’t made some of the saves that he made, he was jamming them up.”
Flynn commands from the back and not only anchors the defense but he plays a big role in sparking the offense as well.
The Warriors are going to need another typical Flynn performance on Wednesday as the Warriors open up Middlesex League play on the road against Woburn.
“This was a great warmup for them,” the coach said, looking ahead to the next game.
With the success of last year’s team behind them, this year’s squad will be looking to make a statement from the opening face-off against Woburn. The game is scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Woburn High School.
