Melrose Lacrosse Teams Look to Build Up Their Young Programs

The Melrose High boys and girls lacrosse teams both had a rough go of it in 2010, but with some key starters returning to both teams, the Red Raiders have a chance to build on last year’s experience as the young lacrosse programs continue to grow. 

The girls team finished 4-14 and graduated a slew of seniors last year, but head coach Cate Arkins said she thinks she has some quality players that can fill the void. 

“Losing 11 seniors is never easy,” said Arkins. “Not only are they producing on the field, but some of them really demonstrated great leadership qualities. I think there are some girls who are coming up through the ranks... who are really going to take advantage of the opportunity to play at the varsity level.”

With 11 seniors gone, Melrose welcomes back 15 veterans, including senior captains Caylee Clark, Justine Johnson, and Hallie Thorpe and junior captain Maggie Moriarty, were voted captains by their teammates after last season. 

“They held captains’ practices preseason and I heard feedback from some of the youth coaches that the girls were doing a good job of taking charge and getting the girls organized and using the time wisely,” said Arkins.

“There’s a lot of young girls,” said Arkins. “I only have three seniors. The team is on the young side. They have a lot of athleticism which is good and it seems like a really nice group of girls.”

Former Andover and Winchester assistant coach Matt James will take the reins as head coach of the boys team this year as the Red Raiders enter their third season as a team. 

"This is my first year at Melrose and I can't explain how impressed I am with the kids," said James. "They're really hard workers, they're learning really fast and they're trying really hard."

The boys team will see the return of its new captains C.J.  and Paul Hanson, Cam McGuire and Bryan Reale and will look to improve on its handful of wins last season. 

"C.J. and Paul are the hardest-working kids you've ever seen," said James. "They're on every ground ball, great on defense and they're just kind of like the emotional leaders." 

The boys start the season at home against league rival Belmont on Friday, April 1 at 3:45 p.m. 

The Lady Raiders kick off the season with a road game against Belmont on Friday, April 1 and then travel to Watertown before the home opener on Tuesday, April 5 against Burlington.