Professional Lacrosse Players to Coach Mustangs

New Head Coach Brings in Pros to Help Boys Team

– Allison Goldsberry

The Medford High School boys lacrosse program will be aided by two professional players this spring season.

According to Athletic Director Bob Maloney, the new head coach of the lacrosse team, Mike Engel, will have two Boston Blazers players as assistant coaches, Nick Cotter and Gary Bining.

Cotter, a forward for the Blazers, was an All-American from Dowling College and is a native of Ontario, Canada.

Bining, an Ohio State University graduate, was recognized by the National Lacrosse League as the Overall Player and Rookie of the Week and was fifth overall in points for the Blazers.

Engel, a guidance counselor at Everett High School, graduated from Trinity College and earned his Master’s in school counseling from UMass-Boston. The former football and lacrosse standout for Newton North and Phillips Academy has coached both sports, including serving as the head varsity lacrosse coach for Marian High School and for the U-17 Program Team Central LAX, and as the Quarterback Coach for a team in Harlem, New York.

As a Newton North student Engel was an All-American lacrosse player and was the Boston Globe Player of the Year. He also captained Newton North’s state championship lacrosse team and spent a post-graduate year as the quarterback for Phillips Academy’s only second undefeated season in its 227-year history.

“Coach Mike Engel has an incredible lacrosse background with tremendous experience in the field and I am extremely confident Mike will take the Medford High School Boys Lacrosse program to the next level, which our student athletes deserve. Mike brings great enthusiasm and is looking forward to working with the youth programs of Medford which is so important for any program– a solid foundation,” said Maloney in an interview last year.

All of the Mustang lacrosse team’s home games will take place at Hormel Stadium due to construction of new turf fields behind Medford High, which will likely begin April 1.

The team starts the season with a scrimmage against Northbridge Middle School on April 3, heads to Saugus on April 7 and Framingham on April 10, and hosts Lynn Classical on April 17 at 10:00AM. The first Greater Boston League match-up is April 19 at Cambridge.