SENIOR CAPTAIN Kaiden Johnson, a two-time Middlesex League All-Star, will lead the Warriors this season. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High boys’ lacrosse team has been working hard this season to integrate multiple new players into their varsity program.
The Warriors are coming off another strong season last year in which they went 15-5 overall, including a first round Div. 2 state tournament victory over rival Melrose 13-10 before falling to eventual state champion Longmeadow in the round of 16.
Wakefield graduated their top two scorers from that team and returned this season with multiple new varsity players ready to help transition the team into a new era.
“Some of the goals were looking to reach this season are getting this young team into a more advanced process probably a lot quicker than anyone expected,” said head coach Tim Johnson. “So far, we’re seeing these young men grow leaps and bounds in terms of skill and lacrosse IQ. We’re also focused on building a strong foundation of basics that will progress as we move forward as a young team.”
That progress will also be determined by Wakefield’s small but talented senior group, goalie Kaiden Johnson, midfielder Bobby DeFeo, defenseman Zack Sartori and attack Dom DeAngelis. All four will serve as captains this year.
“They’ve been tremendous leaders for the underclassmen,” said Johnson. “Kaiden and Bobby were named captains after their tremendous seasons last year where they showed natural leadership both on and off the field. Dom and Zack were added early this season because of the strong leadership abilities they showed with the younger group as we navigate our way through an unexpected rebuilding year.”
Johnson and DeFeo were both All-Stars last season. Johnson, who will be playing lacrosse at Hartwick College next season, had a 5.1 goals against average and consistently kept the Warriors in each game. DeFeo, who will be playing lacrosse at Keene State College, was 4th on last year’s team in scoring with 21 goals and 9 assists. The faceoff specialist also won 70 percent of his draws.
“Although they return with the most experience overall, we’re much more than a two-man team,” said Johnson of Kaiden and Bobby. “Zack Sartori is becoming an all- around defensive utility player while Dom DeAngelis is using his speed and quickness on the attack to keep opposing defenders guessing.”
Johnson was also quick to mention returning juniors Liam McNeill and Mike Ford who “help bring skill and experience to the program.”
Aside from those six, the Warriors will be counting on plenty of freshmen and sophomores to step up and compete right away.
“Sophomore’s Robby Kimball and Frankie Sullivan help give us extra depth in the defense and Dan McHugh has emerged as a big-bodied defensive midfielder that has the ability to create offense when the opportunity arises,” said Johnson.
The freshmen getting their chance this year include Seamus Cable, Brady Walsh, Cam Sartori, Matt Keefe, JP Casey, Brady Zdanowicz and Tommy DeFeo.
“They have been very strong as they continue to fit into big varsity shoes,” said Johnson. “They’ve been thrust into heavy action right away and are proving themselves quite capable as we move forward. Our JV group also has a lot of talent and as they continue to develop, it will only mean good things for this program’s future.”
The Warriors are off to an 0-4 start but have been battling to hang with a multitude of strong teams, most who will likely be playing in the state tournament this year.
Wakefield fell to Peabody 6-5 in overtime in the season opener, was outplayed by a talented Lexington team 9-2 on April 4 but responded with hard-fought losses to Marblehead (7-4 on Thursday) and Arlington (5-3 on Saturday).
As will be the case throughout the season, Wakefield has seen progress.
“We’re putting our focus on each practice, each opponent, each challenge one at a time because we feel it’s important to keep it simple and not overload these new players,” said Johnson. “We have a lot of team events we’re involved in this year and so far we’re very pleased with how this team has accepted each challenge placed in front of them.”
The challenges will keep coming for the Warriors as they travel to Melrose (1-2) today at 4:15 p.m. and host Woburn (2-2) tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in a busy week.
“We may have small numbers in our program overall, we may lack experience and be a little small in stature compared to our opponents, but make no mistake about it, we are warriors and we’ll play that way throughout the entire season until the very last whistle,” said Johnson.