Breaking down the 2023 season for SouthCoast's eight high school boys lacrosse teams
Expectations are high on the SouthCoast as a pair of boys lacrosse teams — Old Colony and Old Rochester — try to defend their respective conference titles.
Here's a look at SouthCoast's eight boys lacrosse teams entering the 2023 season:
APPONEQUET
Head coach: Jeremy Nodelman
Last year’s record: 12-5
Top returners: Kenny Wisniewski, So., A; Jake Cusson, Jr., A; Justyn Hooper, Sr., A; Harrison Lemieux, Sr., M; Will Levrault, So., M; Kevin O’Connor, Jr., M; Josh Keller, Sr., M; Max Anderson, Sr., D; Boston Piquette, Jr., D; Hunter Owen, So., G.
Key newcomers: Tyler Gagne, Sr., D; Jackson Gagnier, Sr., LSM; Jackson Moore, Jr., LSM.
Outlook: Even though the Lakers graduated a lot of seniors from last year’s team, they have another large senior class this year along with some young, up-and-coming players. “We have a large senior group and a large freshmen group,” said Nodelman. “We’re building back the foundation. We’re still working on feeling ourselves out. It’s an interesting mix.” With the return of a trio of senior attackmen in Wisniewski, Cusson and Hooper look for Apponequet to be able to score in bunches. “We have a really strong attack with all three guys coming back,” Nodelman said, adding that he’s also looking to the leadership of Lemieux and O’Connor at midfield. Anderson, a senior, is the only returning defenseman from 2022. “Our No. 1 goal is to compete in the league and push ORR and D-R, the two teams ahead of us last year,” Nodelman said. “Next goal is to make the playoffs and go a step further than we did last year, losing in the first round.”
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BISHOP STANG
Head coach: Jeff Gardner
Last year’s record: 3-15
Top returners: Harrison Costa, Sr., D; Harrison Gardner, Sr., D; Ryan Oliveira, Jr., D; Andrew Weaver, Sr., A; Dylan Freitas, Sr., M/FO; Luke Tougas, Sr., M; Lukas Hirschmann, Jr., M; Ryan Witkowski, Jr., M; Dominic Cavallo, So., D; Colin Kelly, So., D; Eli Ikkela, Jr., A; Jacob Mikutowicz, So., M; JJ Podkowa, So., M; Benny Oliver, So., M; Marco Melo, So., A; Devon Beck, So., A.
Key newcomers: Will Sanders, Fr., G; Andrew Lally, Fr., A; John Goll, Fr., A.
Outlook: With an experienced defense, the Spartans will look to make a tournament berth in 2023. “Our whole defense is back,” said Gardner, noting the return of Costa, Gardner and Oliveira. “Our strength is our returning defense and our goaltender. We have a strong senior class and some good leadership.” Sanders may just be a freshman, but he’s already turning heads as Stang’s starting goalie. “We have some impressive newcomers,” Gardner said. Offensively, the Spartans will turn to Weaver, a senior, and a pair of freshmen attackmen in Lally and Goll. Marshall, a senior captain, will control the midfield. “We play in a tough conference but we do have more local games,” said Gardner, noting that assistant coaches Jeff Feroce and John Kelly have been a big help. ‘We’d like to win as many of our local games as possible.”
DARTMOUTH
Head coach: Mark Rossi
Last year’s record: 4-14
Top returners: Graham White, Sr., M; Jackson Hart, So., M; Ryan Falcon, Sr., A; JT Charrier, Sr., G; Eli Johnson, Sr., D; Ray Gramlich, So., D.
Key newcomers: N/A
Outlook: Dartmouth will depend on its defense as the offense comes together under Rossi, a first-year head coach for lacrosse. “We’re solid defensively,” said Rossi, who is also the school’s boys ice hockey coach. “We have a lot of good athletes on defense and depth. We’re trying to find our groove offensively.” Leading the way for Dartmouth in the midfield are White, a senior, and Hart, a sophomore. The team’s top attackman is Falcon, a senior. Charrier, a senior goalie, will anchor the defense along with Johnson, a senior, and Gramlich, a sophomore. “Our goal is just to improve,” Rossi said. “We’re going to treat every game as a learning experience.”
FAIRHAVEN
Head coach: Nick Pilla
Last year’s record: 10-9
Top returners: Shea Cripps, Sr., G; Dylan Roderiques, Sr., D; Cameron Burke, So., M; Owen Centeio, Jr., A; Jared Reardon, So., M; Jarrod Frates, So., M.
Key newcomer: Grant Darmofal, Fr., M/FO.
Outlook: As the Blue Devils look to rebuild after graduating a large senior class, they’ll rely heavily on Cripps, a four-year starting goalie, and Roderiques, a veteran defender. Pilla is looking for a breakout offensive season from Centeio, a junior attackman, and contributions from a trio of sophomores — Burke, Reardon and Frates. “The guys are anxious to learn,” Pilla said. “They have a good solid base of knowledge they got last season. Their goal this year is to build on that and focus on the details. Right now we’re making lots of mistakes related to experience, but they definitely hustle and are strong going after ground balls. The sophomore midfielders are going to do well. It’s exciting to see how they grow.”
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GNB VOC-TECH
Head coach: Justyn Walker
Last year’s record: 5-13
Top returners: Kaiden Pequita, Sr., A; Brayden Webster, Sr., All-Around; Michael Murphy, Sr., M; Nathan Pearson, Jr., A; AJ Pragana, So., A/M.
Key newcomers: Islander Algarin, Jr., D; Kevin O’Brian, Jr., FO/M; Owen Andrade, So., G; Brady Finn, Jr., M.
Outlook: Walker is excited to see what the Bears can do this year with a good number of returning players and plenty of firepower on offense with the return of Pequita, a 2022 Standard-Times Super Teamer. “Offensively it is probably one of the best groups I’ve seen work together,” Walker said. “The chemistry is great.” Also look for Pearson, a junior, and Pragana, a sophomore, to contribute on offense. Murphy, a senior, will help control the midfield while Webster, a senior, will play just about anywhere. “The goal is the vocational tournament,” Walker said. “We’d like to make a run at winning the vocational tournament.”
NEW BEDFORD
Head coach: Chace Allain
Last year’s record: 0-14
Top returners: Brandon Moreira, Jr., A; Oliver Guilfoyle, So., M; Anthony Estrela, Jr., M; Tommy Mok, So., D; Luis Garcia, Jr., M; Misael Guzman, So., A.
Key newcomers: Yadiel Mendez Velez, So., G; Chris Monterroza, Jr., A; Henry Aj, Jr., D; Dakota Mathieu, Fr., D.
Outlook: Allain’s main goal in his first year as head coach is building the program back up. “We’ve been rebuilding,” he said. “The first step is recruitment. We have a school of 3,000 but we have to get the kids to know about lacrosse.” Just two years ago, the program had 12 players. It has 35 this season. “I want the kids to be motivated and have fun and want to come play lacrosse,” Allain said. Leading a young team will be juniors Moreira, Estrela and Garcia and sophomores Guilfoyle, Mok and Guzman. “We have a strong midfield,” Allain said. “Three of our returners are midfielders.”
OLD COLONY
Head coach: Geno Busa
Last year’s record: 18-3
Top returners: Will Harrop, Sr., A; Stu Burnham, Jr., M; Ryan Letendre, Jr., G; Luke Melia, Jr., A; Brody Darling, Jr., D; Matt Pitts, Jr.., D (LSM); Tommy Fulton, Jr., D; Ryan Chase, Jr., M; Robbie Andrade, Sr., M.
Key newcomer: Quinn Thompson, So., D.
Outlook: Expectations are high for the Cougars and for good reason. They graduated just one player from last year’s Mayflower Athletic Conference Championship team that finished with 18 wins. “We should be pretty good,” said Busa. “We’d like to win the Mayflower again. Last year was the first year we’ve ever done it. We’d like to get back to the state vocational final and win and go further in the state tournament.” Busa has the luxury of a veteran team that is led by Harrop, the 2022 Standard-Times Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year. Harrop entered the season with 275 career points as a senior attackman. Harrop isn’t the only scoring threat. A pair of juniors — Burnham and Melia — are also dangerous with and without the ball. The defense is anchored by Letendre, a junior goal in his third year starting, and Andrade, a senior. Darling, Pitts and Fulton should also make plays on the defensive end. “Our strength is our experience,” Busa said. “I’ve had them all since they were freshmen and sophomores. We’re picking up right where we left off. We’re building on what they’ve already learned. We’re strong across the board. It’s been a fun team to coach.”
OLD ROCHESTER
Head coach: Michael Forns
Last year’s record: 16-1
Top returners: Brady Lee, Sr., M; John Butler, Jr., M; Sawyer Fox, Sr., M; Tyler Cardinal, Sr., A; Zach Zutaut, Sr., A; Harrison Hughes, Sr., M; Dylan Durgin, Jr., D; Brady Lapierre, Sr., D; Thomas Janicki, Sr., G; Brady Reardon, So., G.
Key newcomer: Andrew Nee, Fr., A.
Outlook: A year ago, the Bulldogs went undefeated during the regular season and won the South Coast Conference championship. They return almost their entire lineup and will look to make a similar run this year. “We’re very balanced from both ends of the field,” Forns said. “They’re building off of what we did last year. They’re feeding off of each other and they communicate well. You should see a pretty similar season to last year. The goal is to get to the tournament and go further.” Last year the Bulldogs lost in the first round of the Div. 3 tournament. ORR has added Bridgewater-Raynham and Pembroke to strengthen its regular season schedule. The Bulldogs feature four legitimate scoring threats in Lee, Cardinal, Zutaut and Nee, a freshman. Butler and Fox will look to control the midfield along with Hughes, who will also contribute on offense along with Durgin and Lapierre. Janicki, a senior, and Reardon, a sophomore, will split time in net again.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: 2023 preview of SouthCoast high school boys lacrosse
