THE MELROSE High boy’s lacrosse team is looking to kick their spring season off with a win when they start their season at home on Friday, March 21 at 4:30 against rival Beverly. (photo by Raj Das edphotos.com)
Young, talented squad always a playoff staple
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High boys’ varsity lacrosse is coming off another league winning season with its usual great expectations placed upon on their padded shoulders.
They begin their season this Friday at home at Fred Green Field at 4:30 p.m. against a strong Beverly team. Whether Mother Nature cooperates or not, Melrose will be ready.
They have just three seniors on the team, but they’re loaded with experience and those upperclassmen have helped Melrose earn playoff bids during the last four seasons. Don’t expect anything less this year. Leading Melrose will be senior captains Steven Fogarty and Dan Dussault and senior Jason Pino.
“We’re a young team with some first year juniors and sophomores,” says Melrose head coach Matt James. “But we’re seeing some good things in scrimmage play and a lot of that has to do with our seniors.”
Expect Melrose’s offense to led by Fogarty. “I expect a big big return from Steven,” says his coach, who also cites Max Kleinbub as a player who can put up big numbers for them. The three-year varsity starter is coming off a huge 2022 season. “Max is highly skilled and one of the toughest to cover on our team.” Both Fogarty and Kleinbub were high scorers in Melrose’s recent successful scrimmage against Ipswich.
Midfielder junior Colin Fahey is also expected to crank out offense along with Jack Wright and younger players Sean Maher and Charlie Hoskins, a freshman. On attack, look for Quinn Haggerty, Nick Hitchman and Quinn Fogarty to target the goal.
Early strength of the team indicates defense, according to coach James. “While we’re young, we’re big in size with a lot of athleticism,” he contends. Defensively, Melrose is in great hands with junior Michael Fuccione back in the net. He’ll be aided by Dan Dussault, Matthew Fuccione, Andy Marciano and Declan Baker, among others.
And while winning league titles is nothing new for Melrose, the team would like to return to a deep post season run such as in 2021 when they advanced to North Div. 2 state semifinals. In the last two years, Melrose has been hard pressed to avoid repeat games against Middlesex foes such as Reading and Wakefield, who Melrose fell to last year in the opening round of playoffs, in their fifth appearance together in a year. With about 35 or more teams in the Div. 2 statewide bracket, there is a good chance Melrose will compete against more geographically diverse teams, should they return to playoffs. Until then, the Middlesex League remains as competitive as ever, with league heavyweights Reading and Winchester strong again this year, particularly the senior heavy Rockets, which makes the two games on the calendar (April 13: Reading and May 3: Winchester) must see events.
An early goal is to defeat Beverly this Friday, notes the coach. Should they, it could set the tone for the start of the season. After that, Melrose will compete in an important April vacation non-league tournament that will also give them the level of competition needed to beat Middlesex League best (and others) during later season play. “We love having a schedule like this so we can get creative with our opponents,” says the coach.
Come watch Melrose kick off their season this Friday at 4:15 p.m. at home against the Beverly Panthers.
