Update after press time: Melrose defeats Boston Latin 9-4 (April 24)
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—After a slow start in the spring, the Melrose boy’s lacrosse team (3-4) are finding their winning ways with a most recent 12-6 victory over visiting Masconomet on April 18 at Fred Green Field.
It was a convincing victory from the start, a game in which Melrose never let go of a lead, and they came out early with a 2-0 edge, but Masco nearly tied it up several times, making for a competitive contest. Melrose was led in scoring by Sam Moore, who had 6 goals.
“Masco is a solid program, well coached and we knew from past games that they will never stop fighting,” said Melrose head coach Jeff Heater.
Melrose was off to a quick start with a goal by Moore just a minute into the game and that was duplicated by Finn Alpers who made it a 2-0 game with 8 minutes to go in the first quarter. With 5 minutes left to go in the first, Masco got on the board but Alpers and Moore extended the lead to 4-1 as the quarter closed.
Melrose maintained a 5-3 lead at halftime despite a rally from Masco.
At the net, Melrose’s Noah Fay was strong at holding Masco to just three, first half goals. “Noah has been great this season. He puts in a lot of time on his craft, and is always working to improve every aspect of his game. We are fortunate to have him on the team,” says coach Heater.
In the second half, Melrose would rely on goals from Leo Kleinbub (2 goals) Finn Alpers, Nick Hitchman, who leads the team with 13 goals, and Sam Moore, who all helped extend Melrose’s lead from 8-5 and 9-6 before a final 12-6 win.
Coach Heater liked what he saw defensively across the board. “Anders Giuliano helped set the tone for some aggressive on ball play, and the defensive unit did a good job communicating through what they saw,” he noted.
After mixed bag early April, Melrose is a better place now to collect wins. “We had a run of facing some tough teams and with any sport, once teams see your film, you have to pivot,” says coach Heater. “We’re working through our growing pains as a team and will continue to adjust as we need to give us the best chance of winning.”
This week they face opponent Boston Latin on Thursday (post deadline) before a strong Arlington team at home on Monday at 4:30 p.m.
Says the coach, “We have not played Boston Latin before. We expect them to be a tough team that will take us playing all 4 quarters to be successful. We want to take better quality shots.”