By DAN PAWLOWSKI
ARLINGTON — The Wakefield High boys’ lacrosse team kicked off their season last night at Arlington High with an exciting, 11-7 victory over the Spy Ponders.
Trailing 4-1 in the 2nd quarter, the visiting Warriors scored three in a row to tie it going into halftime before making it seven straight goals and an 8-4 lead in the 3rd quarter, ultimately outscoring Arlington 7-3 in the second half to seal a hard-earned victory and a 1-0 record.
Wakefield’s team effort included a dynamic attack — 4 goals and an assist from junior captain Seamus Cable, 2 goals and 2 assists from sophomore John Scarpello, 2 goals and an assist from sophomore Nick Metsis, a goal and an assist from junior Brady Walsh; and tough defense — 9 saves from senior captain Zach Courtright and solid games from junior captain JP Casey, senior captain Ryan Metsis and Jake Skowron.
Cable started things off with a low-angle shot that found the back of the net early but Arlington settled the game down, eventually taking a 2-1 lead after one. Courtright made 3 saves to get into a rhythm and help keep his team in it.
The Ponders maintained control through most of the 2nd quarter, their 4-1 advantage leading to plenty of confidence.
The Warriors stuck with it and senior Kyle Clair recovered a loose ball and scored before taking a big hit which led to a Wakefield man-up opportunity. That was a sign of things to come in this one as Arlington focused on highlight-reel hits which more often than not resulted in penalties while the Warriors focused on making plays and capitalizing in the attacking zone.
Wakefield took advantage of the ensuing man-up when Walsh found Cable with a perfect dish across the field before Cable’ top-shelf bomb made it 4-3.
The Warriors tied it with Scarpello’s first. Sophomore Josh Whitman scooped up a ground ball in the defensive zone and got it to Skowron who carried into Spy Ponder territory, drew the defense in and found Scarpello who easily converted to tie it 4-4 going into halftime.
The Warriors refused to relinquish the momentum in the second half. Scarpello found junior Brady Zdanowicz to make it 5-4.
A terrific ground ball and clear from Ryan Metsis set up a beautiful passing display from Walsh to Scarpello to Cable who buried another to make it 6-4. Metis made another huge defensive play, intercepting a pass while Wakefield was down a man. Soon after, JP “Juice” Casey lived up to his nickname by making one of his multiple impressive defensive plays to recover the ball and fly up the sideline in front of his bench, getting the Warriors pumped up before Cable finished once again, this time through traffic for Wakefield’s sixth in a row.
Just seconds later, after another face-off win from Zdanowicz, Scarpello found a loose ball and buried it for an 8-4 lead finally leading to an Arlington timeout.
Walsh scored the 9th and Nick Metsis the 10th on a laser from up top as the Warriors rolled into the final quarter up 10-6.
Arlington turned the pressure up with an early goal in the 4th to cut the deficit to 3 but the defense, including Casey, Skowron, Metsis, Whitman, sophomore Mike Viselli, junior Christian DiFlorio and senior Dan McHugh battled until the end.
Arlington’s questionable plays continued with a late hit on Courtright when the game was all but decided. McHugh endeared himself to his teammates and Wakefield fans by standing up for his goalie. In an always tricky line to toe, McHugh handled the situation well, keeping his composure while making it clear Wakefield was done allowing those types of plays.
Altogether, the Warriors played as a team, a tendency they know needs to be replicated every day in an always-stacked Middlesex League.
For that, Wakefield will lean on captains Metsis, Courtright, Casey, Cable and juniors Tommy DeFeo and Cam Sartori.
“They set the tone everyday in practice and make sure they’re helping develop the next wave,” said head coach Andy Wells who kicked off his second year at the helm with a win. “Ryan and Zach really earned their roles last season through the willingness to switch positions when we needed them to. Ryan moved from attack to defense and Zach moved from midfield to goalie and that type of team-first attitude is something we preach and they stepped up big time and earned serious respect from everyone for doing so.”
With that mentality, the Warriors are focusing on a return to the postseason in 2025. They finished at 7-10 in the regular season last year earning a No. 24 seed before falling to No. 9 Foxboro 14-5 on the road in the first round of the Div. 3 state tournament.
“Overall, we’d like to be able to swing some losses from last season in our direction so we can help ourselves in terms of seeding come playoff time,” said Wells. “It would be great to be able to host a playoff game at Landrigan.”
Some of those redemption games will likely include next week’s road matchups with Belmont and Melrose as well as Freedom Division tilts against Burlington (May 13) and Wilmington (May 21).
“I think our main thing is to show up to practice with intensity and focus and be competitive against each other each day,” said Wells about the road to a successful season. “We want practices to be the toughest thing we do and if we do that then the games will play out the way we hope.
“We want to be mentally tough and just take everything one day at a time and one play at a time regardless of the situation in the game.”
Wakefield’s home-opener will be tomorrow, 4:30 p.m. against Woburn (1-1).