Wildcats Lacrosse Tuning Up for Postseason Appearance

After a Thursday loss to visiting Woburn, Wilmington boys lacrosse head coach Kieran Kavanaugh said it’s critical for his players to have short-term memory as all good teams do. During the most successful season in Wildcats’ lacrosse history, there haven’t been many opportunities to test that theory because there haven't been many losses to bounce back from.

Wilmington lost for just the third time on the year Thursday, falling to the Tanners by a 10-6 margin to drop to 13-3 on the year.

“In sports, you have to put wins and losses behind you immediately,” said Kavanaugh. “We have the talent to do something in the playoffs, so we need to get back to working hard in practice so it translates into the games.”

Mitch DeAmbrose scored three times in the first half on Thursday while Brian Priem added a goal and an assist of his own. Still, the Wildcats trailed by a 7-4 margin.

The third quarter featured two Woburn goals while the Tanners kept Wilmington off the scoreboard. That’s because the Wildcats rarely got the ball in the offensive zone, instead chasing a possession heavy Woburn team for the majority of the quarter.

DeAmbrose added two goals in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough for the locals.

Still, Wilmington is in good position with just two games remaining before their second ever postseason appearance.

Kavanaugh’s charges may have earned a Middlesex League regular season title, though it’s not 100 percent clear yet. The Wildcats were slated to take on Stoneham earlier in the week, but the game was not played.

The second-year coach said he is not certain why the game wasn’t played, but he believes it will be a forfeit win awarded to Wilmington. If that is the case, the team will win the league crown.

“It’s a huge stepping stone to go from where we’ve been to where we are now in position for the league title,” said Kavanaugh. “The guys know what they can do. And they know our program has the potential to do something big. Getting that league title is huge for the guys to recognize that the hard work they’ve put in, they’ll get something in return.”