'Super encouraging' - Leominster boys' lacrosse continues turnaround from rough start
Just three weeks ago, Leominster boys’ lacrosse found itself in a spot no team wants to be in, falling to 2-6 after a loss to emerging Mid-Wach B juggernaut Nashoba. But in the time since, the Blue Devils have reeled off five straight wins to get back over .500.
Leominster (7-6, 4-5 Mid-Wach B) has one of the blue-chip players in Central Mass. this year in senior captain Mason Brassard, but 16 out of the 31 players on the team this year came into the season with zero varsity experience.
“It’s a mix of our leaders are really experienced varsity players, and then we’ve got a bunch of guys learning to follow their lead,” longtime coach Colin Davis said. “Early on in the season, it was very apparent that we did not know how to win a close game.”
The Blue Devils found themselves on the wrong side of late rallies by Littleton and league foes Westborough, North Middlesex and Groton-Dunstable, but have since rebounded and avenged losses to the Rangers and Patriots earlier this month.
“The mentality of this team to flip it from earlier in the year where we were struggling to win those games and to find our grit level and be able to gut some of these out has been super encouraging,” Davis said.
The biggest change has been the secondary contributors getting up to speed, and it’s been especially apparent on the score sheet, as Brassard (45 goals, 10 assists) and junior Michael Halstead (20 goals, 19 assists) have gotten more help.
After scoring 10 goals only three times in the opening eight games, Leominster has averaged over 12 goals per game during its recent five-game winning streak.
“There were definitely things to build off of in those early losses,” Davis said. “Instead of getting frustrated, they just doubled down on the work rate, started getting smarter on offense, and I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my offensive assistant Tyrese Perez.”
Cam Vitone, another senior captain, played defensive midfielder last year but has grown into a bigger offensive role, contributing 23 points over the last five games.
While Davis felt the offense was over-reliant on Brassard early, Leominster offensive star has come through in big moments, including tying a school record with seven goals in a 10-6 win over Lunenburg that started the current streak.
“Mason’s a great player,” Davis said. “He’s super talented, but one of the things I love about him is he’s just as excited when one of his teammates scores.”
Davis said in the past his teams have always loved a rock fight, but the Blue Devils’ burgeoning offensive potential this season has given them another way to win.
He also credited a defensive unit that includes three senior captains — goalie Trevor Gorman and defensemen James Julian and Marcus DelGreco — for sticking it out during the early season as new contributors got up to speed on defense.
With Leominster rounding into form at the right time, Davis said he’s hoping to finish strong and increase the Blue Devils’ odds of hosting a playoff game at Doyle Field.
—Contact Carl Setterlund at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @tgsports.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Leominster boys' lacrosse continues turnaround from rough start
