Boys, Girls Lax Open Season with Victories
– Allison Goldsberry
Both the boys and girls varsity lacrosse teams opened up the spring season with home wins on Saturday morning.
The boys team, under the direction of new head coach Chris Doyle, defeated Bishop Fenwick 8-7. The Mustangs were up 3-0 early and 6-4 at the half before Fenwick tied things up 6-6.
“We played well enough to hold them off,” said Coach Doyle.
Ryan McCarthy added three goals for the Mustangs while Anthony Tortora had two goals and Erik Baptista, Chris McCarthy, and Owen Healey each had one goal. Steve Center defended the Mustangs’ net and “played very well,” said Doyle.
Coach Doyle said the defense played very well in the second half while the offense started out well but “struggled” in the second half. Doyle was happy to earn his first win as head coach of the Mustangs.
“As far as the first game, it was nice to a get win under our belt right out of the gate. We encountered some discipline problems midway through the game, which is a high priority fix for this season, and gave them several man up opportunities in a row,” said Doyle. “Coming in as a new coach, there is a lot for me to learn about the boys as far as their skill sets and their knowledge of the game. Then I have had to plan an offense and defense based on this, and the kids are now learning it all. It will take time, but they have been working hard for the first two weeks.”
The Lady Mustangs defeated Lowell 14-10. Even though Coach Matt Galusi said it wasn’t his team’s best effort, “at the end of the day it’s still a ‘W’.”
“[It was] just frantic play at best by the Medford girls. But they dug deep, they found a way to get it done,” said Galusi.
Galusi praised “birthday girl” Sophie Karon, who recently turned eighteen, for making the big plays when it counted on Saturday.
“Sophie Karon just refused to let us lose. Any time we needed a big goal, she was there and just dropped it in,” said Coach Galusi.
Karon had four goals and three assists. Olivia Timmins added four goals, Lydia Regan, “looking fantastic,” added two goals, and Cassidy LeBert, Amanda Goguen, Katherine Timmins, and Jolene McGlynn each added a goal.
The Lady Mustangs are off for the next week and have some work to do, “working on all areas of the game,” said Coach Galusi.
The girls head to Malden on Wednesday, April 11. The boys are back in action on Thursday, April 5 hosting Manchester Jr./Sr. High School at 4PM.
