THE LHS boys’ lacrosse team honored assistant coach Alex Soden (center) during halftime of their win over Amesbury on Friday. It was Teacher Appreciation Week at LHS last week. (Courtesy Photo)

 

 

After press time:
Lynnfield defeats Winthrop 17-14 (May 20)
Lynnfield falls to Manchester Essex 15-10 (May 18)
Lynnfield defeats Newburyport 13-5 (May 16)

 

 

Published May 15, 2024

By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI

LYNNFIELD — Last Friday afternoon, the Lynnfield High boys’ lacrosse team ended its five-game home-stand with a 16-4 win over Amesbury.

It was the Pioneers’ eighth-straight victory as they improved to 10-2 overall and 8-1 in the Cape Ann League.

“We were able to get the younger players a lot of playing time in the second half,” pointed out Pioneers head coach Pat Lamusta, whose squad swept the Red Hawks this spring.

Lynnfield led this one 9-1 at the half as they were in control from the start.

Will Norton led the team in scoring as the attacker had six goals. Kelan Cardinal was the team’s leader in assists with five and he also scored once.

John Powers had four goals while Owen Considine had three goals and three assists. Evan Rocha had two goals and one helper while Mike Murphy had three assists.

Aidan Norton and Dhimitri Dono both had one assist each.

Pioneer goalie, Ben Pimentel, made seven saves to go to 10-2.

Brendan Driscoll had a team-high five ground balls.

In a non-league game on May 8, the Pioneers beat Dracut 9-6.

The Midddies scored the first two goals of the afternoon but the Pioneers stormed back and scored the final five goals of the first half to go to the break up three.

“We started off slow but we were finally able to match their intensity,” pointed out Lamusta. “This was a measuring-stick game for us because they have a very good team.”

Dracut, who entered this week at 7-5, is a Division 3 team as they play in the tough Merrimack Valley Conference.

Will Norton had three goals and one assist while Considine had two goals and one assist. Murphy had one goal and two assists while Powers, Rocha and A.J. Chiaradonna all scored once.

Cardinal had a team-high four assists to go with three ground balls and two takeaways.

“He is a true two-way player,” said Lamusta, about the midfielder.

Pimentel turned back nine Middie shots.

On May 7, the Pioneers defeated rival North Reading, 15-6, in a game that took place at UMass-Lowell (Lynnfield was the designated home team).

Lynnfield led this game 9-2 after the first quarter and 13-4 at the half.

“It was very neat to play at a college field,” said Lamusta.

Will Norton scored four times while Considine and Murphy both had three goals and two assists. Cardinal had two goals and three assists

Owen Doherty, Rocha and Powers all found the back of the Hornet net once.

Niccolo Antidormi had one assist, four ground balls and three takeaways.

“He was our leader on defense that game,” recalled Lamusta, about the senior.

Pimentel made five saves in net.

On May 16, the Pioneers visit Newburyport at 4 p.m.

They then host Manchester-Essex on May 18 with that game starting at 11:30 a.m. Lynnfield then visits Winthrop on May 20 in a non-league contest. That contest will start at 6 p.m.

Entering this week, Lynnfield is the fifth seed in the MIAA Division 4 power rankings. The top 32 teams at the end of the regular season automatically qualify for states.