girls’ and boys’ lacrosse teams have been busy in preseason practices, and Tuesday was no exception. The teams were at Lincoln Field under a partly blue sky with a mean whipping wind, doing plays and upping their skills to improve from last season’s finishes.
The girls were scheduled to open on April 1 at 3:45 p.m. at , with the boys' team at home at 4 p.m. against Woburn, depending on the weather.
GIRLS’ LACROSSE SEASON PREVIEW
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Coach: Kerry Richmond, second year
League: Middlesex League
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Last Year: 15-6-1. Fell to , 20-16, in the North Division 1 Quarterfinals.
Returning Players: Nine returners, six are seniors and three are juniors. Richmond noted that the returners and the new players are meshing well.
“It’s been great," she said. "The seniors have been great leaders, they’ve taken the new players under their wings – they’ve started to really coach them on the field. We were just doing plays today and directing the players where to go.”
Richmond is working on getting the new players up to varsity speed.
“With the physicality of the game, with the speed of the game, just kind of understanding the difference between playing JV or at a freshmen level verses the varsity level," she said.
Key to Success: “Staying healthy… four of our returners are already out right now," Richmond said. "Team play. It’s really going to be a team effort this year with the younger players really focusing together.”
Game to Watch: . "Last year versus Reading both of our games were very close," Richmond said. "I think we ended up losing both games by one or two goals. And similar play, very physical, same philosophy. I think that will be our close game.”
Coach’s Take: “We had a scrimmage (Monday) against , which our starting goalie is out right now so after that it was pretty even,” Richmond said. “We did well in the midfield and we scrimmaged on Sunday. So they’ve had a bunch of game-like situations so far and then we’re supposed to play on Friday depending on the weather.”
BOYS’ LACROSSE SEASON PREVIEW CAPSULE
Coach: Dave Walsh, 12th year
League: Middlesex League
Last Year: Regular season, 10-8. Preliminary round bye in the tournament, but the team lost in the first round.
Returning Players: “We have a lot of returning players," Walsh said. "We have a long way to go, but the team feels pretty confident. Preseason practices aren’t going bad.”
Key to Success: “Well, we suspect we’re going to be a pretty good defensive team, as we have the last couple of years," Walsh said. "The key difference between last year and this year… the games that we won, they were usually low scoring games, and the games that we lost were usually high scoring games. So we’ve got to score more goals. We’re working on making sure we are more active offensively.”
Game to Watch: In league play, and Reading. "Reading is a great opponent, and Winchester, those are always tight games with us," Walsh said. "Out of league, I think a Billerica game is usually a good game.”
Coach’s Take: “If the season were to start today, we wouldn’t be quite ready. But the good thing is it’s not. By the time we get to our first game, we’ll be ready, we’ll be ready to win a game.”
