Athletes of the Week: Plaques Presented to Championship LAX Team

During halftime of the game on Saturday, Oct. 8, of Algonquin versus Hudson, the 2011 Algonquin Boys Varsity Lacrosse team stepped up to receive their plaques for last season's Central Massachusetts Championship.

The boys finished up with a 20-5 record for the season, and defeated St. John's in the Central Massachusetts District Final, making the team the first Central Massachusetts public school to advance to the Division 2 State Finals.

The boys in this program gave new meaning to the phrase 'cardiac kids,' winning two overtime games (11-10 vs. Grafton in the district semi-final and 10-9 vs. St. Johns in the district final) to earn the 2011 district title," said Head Coach Rich Luongo in a speech at the ceremony. "They also won a third consecutive overtime game (9-8 vs. Longmeadow) in the Division-2 State Semi-final and played their hearts out in the state final losing to Medfield 13–9. Defeating a rival like St. John’s to win our fourth district title added an additional sweetness to the victory."

Luongo added that the particular team's perseverance and work ethic was unprecedented in the history of the Algonquin lacrosse program.

Luongo is assisted by assistant coaches Tony Aguiar, Peter Larsen and Peter Sullivan. 

"This team wanted to leave a legacy at the school and do what no other boys lacrosse program has ever done," said Luongo. "They did that and more. They left a coaching staff honored to have coached such a fine group of young adults and very proud to be part of a program with a multitude of achievements
that will never be forgotten."

Varsity players who received plaques:
Brendan Bartolini
Mike Fucci
Gage Gillis
Keegan Gillis
Carter Guzzi
Conor Healey
Tim Hanlon
Co-Captain Billy Hegarty -
Ian Kemper
Davis Kraft
Mike Leone
Co-Captain Nick Mazzola
David McGovern
Patrick Murphy
Zach Murphy-Brown
Giles Ober
Scott Perreault
Brennan Pierce
Steve Putnam
Mike Ryan
Andrew Savarese
Kyle Stewart
Zack Tarallo
Ryan Wales
Pat Walsh
Mike Wood
R.J. Wood
Bob Campbell
Sam DiStefano
Nate Knox
Jake Scearbo

Coaching Staff
Assistant Coach - Tony Aguiar
Assistant Coach – Peter Larsen
Assistant Coach - Peter Sullivan
Head Coach – Rich Luongo