St. Mary’s boys lacrosse looking to continue success

The St. Mary’s High boys lacrosse program is only in its fifth year, but the Spartans are already becoming a force in the Catholic Central League.St. Mary’s went 13-7 last year and finished second in the Catholic Central League. The Spartans lost to Ipswich in the first round of the tournament, but coach Dan Ritchie was happy.”That was the first time we had qualified for the tournament,” he said.Ritchie lost 14 seniors from that team, not all of whom played. He still, however, has a talented group of players moving up the ranks that he’s confident can help the team compete for the CCL title and do well in the tournament.Seniors Matt Molloy and Casey Goll will be in the midfield, along with sophomore Nikko Markham.”We’re looking for those midfielders to do a lot of scoring this year to really make up for some of the boys we lost,” Ritchie said.The defense will be anchored by sophomore Tom Braswell and defensive middie David Hicks, a senior. Junior Don Hesse, fresh off a spectacular season in net for the St. Mary’s hockey team, will be in goal. Hesse took last year off from lacrosse, but he’s back.The front line will feature freshman Nico Manganiello and sophomore Tim Aylward.”I’m looking for those guys to provide solid attack play,” Ritchie said. “Even though we have a lot of young players, I think we have the talent to contend for the Catholic Central title and qualify for tournament play. Hopefully we’ll win a few games (in the tournament).”St. Mary’s opens its season April 8 at Swampscott.