Lynn Lax hopes veterans lead the way

LYNN – The combined English/Classical lacrosse team will have an abundance of veterans in the lineup when it opens its season at the end of the month.Coach Peter Pappagianopoulos said his numbers are in the mid-thirties, which is pretty good, and about half of them are seniors.View Photo Gallery”We have a very senior-laden team,” he said. “We only graduated a couple of starters from last year.”Pappagianopoulos will be looking for big things from his four senior captains, Alex Amico, Matt Demirs, Adam Bryson and Anthony Uva from English.Amica, a four-year player, is back on attack. Like many of his teammates, he’s coming off a successful season with the Lynn Jets. He’s also a captain on the English High soccer team.”He’s a well-rounded player,” Pappagianopoulos said. “He was probably our top attackman last season.”Joining him up front will be another returning attackman, junior Corey Wojewodzic,. Junior Keith MacDonald, who was in the midfield last year, will move to attack this year. Wojewodzic and MacDonald are from Classical. Both played hockey.Wes Thompson, a senior from Classical, is only a second year player but he saw considerable time last year at midfield and defense.The midfield will benefit from experience as well, with Bryson and Anthony Uva both returning. Pappagianopoulos said Bryson is probably the fastest guy on the team and Uva, who was a captain on the hockey team, will be the go-to guy on the faceoff.”There’s a great motor on the kid,” Pappagianopoulos said of Uva. “He’s a hard worker … stick-skills wise he’s come a long way.”Sophomore Sean Hemenway, was who an attacker last year, will help shore up the midfield. The defense returnees include Demirs, who just wrapped up an impressive swimming career for the Bulldogs; junior Robert “Bubba” Comeau and Liam Andrews, a senior from Classical.Anthony Baio will provide the Shamrocks its last line of defense when he returns in net. This will be his third year holding down the fort. He’s a senior.With so many hockey players in the lineup, Pappagianopoulos is hoping the success on the ice continues on to the lacrosse field.”It was an excellent season from the hockey team. They had a great year. Hopefully they’ll be able to roll that into lacrosse season,” Pappagianopoulos said.Pappagianopoulos is encouraged by what he has seen the first few days back.”They looked good,” he said. “A lot of kids have shown growth. It doesn’t seem like the stick work has fallen off over the offseason. We’re for a turnaround with the record.”Joining Pappagianopoulos on the sidelines are his assistants, Adam Saltzman and Chris Donofrio. Donofrio will also work with the junior varsity. The Shamrocks are coming off a 2-12 season last year.”This is a great group of kids, this senior class,” Pappagianopoulos said. “They’re great workers. They have great personalities. They love being there.”The team’s strength will be it’s leadership, he said, adding that the defense should be strong and the midfield and attack seem to be coming together. The whole midfield returns with exception of Anthony Atwood and Jared Chen, who both graduated.”Hopefully we can put a few more balls in the net,” Pappagianopoulos said.The Shamrocks open their season Monday, March 31, at Manning field against Southeast Regional. Lynn will be in the Northeastern Conference South with Swampscott, Salem, Revere and Winthrop. Those teams will play each other twice. Lynn also has non-league games scheduled against Cambridge, Malden, Lynn Tech and Southeast Regional.Although the baseball and softball teams probably won’t be seeing their fields anytime soon, the lacrosse team has already been outside thanks to the turf at Manning Field. Lynn will get a couple of scrimmages in over the next few days against St. Mary’s and Lynn Tech.