Melrose (17-1) silences Hamilton-Wenham, earns 100th win

Published in the June 1, 2018 edition

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE—Playoffs can’t come soon enough for the Melrose Red Raider lacrosse team, who proved their domination of the North with an 11-5 victory over Hamilton-Wenham at home on May 24. Following that was a 13-1 victory over Wakefield that closed out the regular season at 17-1 as they now await the release of playoff brackets that will have them as the #1 seed in the Div. 2 North field. 

“Hamilton-Wenham is obviously a very good team, ranked #15 in the state and has an RPI percentage very similar to ours,” says head coach Matt James. “I thought the game might have been a little tighter going in, but I think the boys were just really on today. We won all but maybe 5 ground balls. It’s awesome to see them play at this level now.”

THE MELROSE Red Raider lacrosse team is ready for playoffs and finished their regular season 17-1. (Donna Larsson photo)

Brendan Fennell scored 3 goals and 2 assists, Matt Dussault scored his 30th goal of the season and Brendan Maher shined on defense. Both Fennell and Dussault (freshmen) have combined for over 70 goals for Melrose this season. Dussault sits at 30 while Fennell has over 40. Maher on defense, meanwhile, had the formidable task of guarding Hamilton Wenham’s top player and he delivered. “He just shut him down,” confirms James. 

A day later, Melrose earned their 17th win of the season when they beat Wakefield, 13-1 at home in a contest that was a continuation of their previously-called game in which Melrose held a 6-1 lead. Melrose had 7 different scorers over the night, including Jack Wells and Christian Nyland (2 goals), who coach James points out the terrific performance. “Christian played a great game for us.”

Melrose is at the perfect place as they ready themselves for playoffs. Most certainly, there will be familiar competition in the bracket. “I expect we will run into Winchester and Marblehead, there are a few unknowns like Billerica and Malden Catholic, who we don’t see a lot. But its one game at a time.”

As for the players? They are beyond ready. Says the coach, “They’re soaking it in, stepping up their game. They’re taking their play to another level and because of this, we can add some new concepts to stay one step ahead of scouting. We’re already a well-conditioned team but we’re going to get even more well-conditioned before playoff time, because they have it in them.”