Lacrosse notebook: Close-knit Wakefield boys off to sizzling start

Wakefield s boys lacrosse initiative has shown grit and determination since Day of the spring It s the primary reason the Warriors have burst onto the scene as one of the state s top up-and-coming groups to watch I think the biggest thing that I have noticed about this group is how close they are noted Wakefield coach Andy Wells This is a group where every guy on it are legitimately friends which you don t constantly get at the high school level You can tell how long they ve all played together they ve grown up playing sports hockey football lacrosse together their whole lives These guys are really close and they play really hard for each other The scrappy bunch has blazed to a - start Wakefield s last truly memorable season came in That spring the Warriors made a run to the Div North sectional final before falling to Beverly They also had selected success in before faltering to eventual Div champion Longmeadow in the Round of After a stint coaching youth lacrosse in Wilmington Wells took over the operation in He had prior club coaching experience and had managed a few of the North Shore s upcoming talent over the years The opportunity was intriguing I knew growing up Wakefield constantly had strong lacrosse programs especially at the youth level noted Wells They had a run where they were really really strong in high school It s a town that is passionate about their sports Good athletic department good administration so it was a pretty easy choice Everybody is pulling in the same direction They want the programs to be thriving so there is a lot of help there That was really the biggest thing for me The Warriors responded by making the Div playoffs but dropped their opening round competition to a very tough Foxboro squad - However a new way of life was being constructed and more athletes suddenly yearned to join the effort On top of things the Warriors only graduated one player from their roster A insufficient new faces were added to the association and confidence began to build as Wakefield won its first nine games in dominant fashion I think our key is genuinely wanting to win this year commented Wakefield junior captain Seamus Cable Having the determination as a crew and bringing it to practice everyday I think we re really close on the field and became closer as a group even more so than last year Cable has already amassed goals and assists this spring The junior eclipsed career points this past week during a event with Winchester Wakefield has also been propelled offensively by John Scarpello goals assists On the defensive end Tommy DeFeo has been a spark plug with caused turnovers and ground balls Meanwhile JP Casey has caused turnovers and ground balls to go with three goals In the MIAA s latest set of Div boys lacrosse power rankings circulated Friday Wakefield was seeded seventh with a company rating of We know that we still have a lot to prove Casey disclosed A lot of people already at the beginning of the year had us crossed out They didn t think we were going to be anything special Now we have a target on our backs We re embracing it The Middlesex League might be one of the state s top fields but the Warriors would not have it any other way Now they look to close the spring strong before entering Div playoff contention We ve just got to come out and play our event explained Cable Let the scoreboard do the talking Wakefield has seen great success in sports such as football Is this the point where its lacrosse band follows suit I would like to hope so commented Wells The group that we have right now they re motivated They re bought-in They want to have a prosperous season and finish off their high school career strong Only time will tell