Struggling Season for Swampscott Lacrosse

Ever since the beginning of Josh Field’s reign as the head coach of the Big Blue lacrosse program, he has never missed a postseason appearance.

In 2006 and 2007, the Big Blue, led by defenseman Sam Johnson and leading scorer Alex Junda, began their stretch of postseason runs, with the 2006 season marking Swampscott’s first playoff berth, and latter year of the Johnson-Junda era ending in the second round of the playoffs, a place Swampscott had never been before.

In 2008, Swampscott fell to an even 10-10 after going 12-6 in the year before. Guided by A.J. Zarinsky’s record-breaking season on offense, the Big Blue continued on to the playoffs before bowing out to Scituate in the first round.

In 2009, Zarinsky missed nine games, but thanks to help from fellow senior Ben Wollerscheid, Swampscott sailed to a 17-2 record, the most successful season in Swampscott lacrosse history. And once again, the Big Blue lost to Scituate, but not until the third round.

In 2010 and 2011, the Big Blue, led by scoring machine Sean Lannon, fell to lower records than before (7-12 in 2010, 8-11 in 2011), but was able to clinch the NEC South division title with key wins over Saugus and Salem. Swampscott lost to Newburyport both times in the first round.

And last season, 2012, the Big Blue, led by Billy Valle and Tony Silva, along with 14 other seniors, made it back to the second round of the playoffs before losing to Dover-Sherborn, who would eventually become the Division 3 State Champions.

But as Swampscott’s current season begins to dwindle down, Field has begun to realize the truth: for the first time in seven years, his team will not compete in the postseason.

However, the 2013 Big Blue has had to overcome more obstacles than any other Swampscott team before it. With a lack of experience, as exemplified in the past, and a shift to an undeniably more difficult division, the Big Blue has not had it easy.

Swampscott, who lost 16 seniors at the conclusion of last season, only brought back three of its key players in Josh Rothwell, Brian Santry, and Griffin Hunt, and many athletes, who had never seen varsity time before this season, have been forced to step up in roles previously filled by strong, veteran players.

And unfortunately for Field, and the Swampscott players who are struggling in their bigger roles, Johnson, Junda, Zarinsky, Wollerscheid, Lannon, Valle, and Silva will not be walking through that door anytime soon.

Another factor in Swampscott’s fall is its dramatic schedule change. The Northeastern Conference, preparing for Saugus’ departure to the Cape Ann League and analyzing Swampscott’s recent success, switched Swampscott from the NEC South, who previously had only Saugus and Salem, to the NEC North, featuring dangerous teams such as Beverly, Marblehead, and Danvers.

Swampscott’s gone 1-8 against their new division opponents so far in the 2013 season, while putting up a 2-0 record against NEC South teams. And in every season Swampscott has posted a losing record and still made the playoffs, thanks to its performance against their divisional opponents, the Big Blue had posted a losing season against the NEC North teams.

Unfortunately, this year’s team is paying the price for the success Swampscott has had in previous years. Because of the previous seven seasons of triumph, the Big Blue now has to deal with increased competition (the reason why they were moved to the NEC North was because of their years of success) while it tries to plan for future seasons.

The Big Blue is currently 4-11, its last game a 15-2 loss against Beverly on Monday. Swampscott’s next game is on Thursday, May 13, at Peabody.