LYNN — Lauren Vaccaro hit a tough point in her high school hockey career two years ago. A goalie, Vaccaro felt she didn’t perform to her standards during her freshman season with the Peabody girls hockey team and decided to step away from the ice her sophomore year to re-evaluate her options. The next step in her journey was her decision to transfer to St. Mary’s from Lynnfield High in hopes of starting fresh and tackling a new challenge.
“I didn’t play hockey my sophomore year,” Vaccaro, a Lynnfield native, said. “Getting the opportunity to play for a very competitive team was a great chance for me. It was also about the academic opportunities St. Mary’s had to offer. I shadowed a friend who attended St. Mary’s and I noticed right away the community-feel the school has to offer.
“I went to middle school with Alex Iacoviello,” Vaccaro said. “She was a team captain last year and she was really instrumental in me coming to St. Mary’s. She always told me really good things about the school and the program.”
Fast forward to the 2018-2019 season and Vaccaro, now a senior, is the backbone of an undefeated St. Mary’s team that’s 5-0 this season.
“This year, especially, all our girls connect really well,” Vaccaro said. “We’re starting to have confidence in all our players. We’re leaving the individual side of things alone. Coach Frank (Pagliuca) always tells us we have to play our game and the individual things will come later. We’re really focusing on that. I think the team bonding has helped us and it’s showing in the results of our games.”
Pagliuca has watched Vaccaro improve at goalie since she joined the Spartans last winter as a junior. Vaccaro continues to gain confidence, Pagliuca said, and the strides she made last season have carried over this year.
“Lauren leads by example,” Pagliuca said. “She works very hard in practice and her teammates like her. She’s a great competitor in practice and that rubs off on her teammates. She came in looking for an opportunity to play and prove herself. She saw the majority of time in net last year and had an excellent junior campaign. She had five shutouts last year and really stabilized that position for us.
“With Lauren, it’s about consistency,” Pagliuca said. “Very rarely will she have a game where she’s letting in goals she should’ve saved. She’s very consistent in net. She makes the saves she should make. She’s focused on getting better in practice. Her biggest thing is she’s growing in net. A lot of it has to do with her confidence. The more she grew comfortable last year, the more her play improved. She came in with a lot of confidence and that has shown this year.”
Vaccaro credited Pagliuca with playing an important role in her decision to join St. Mary’s.
“Coach Frank was really instrumental in bringing me to St. Mary’s,” Vaccaro, a two-sport athlete who also plays lacrosse, said. “I have to thank him for having confidence in me, each practice and each game. That’s really important, not just for myself but for the younger girls.”
Vaccaro leads a group of Spartans goalies that includes a pair of underclassmen in sophomore Maddy Delano and eighth-grader Ang Catino. Delano filled in for Vaccaro in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Lincoln-Sudbury and made 15 saves.
Vaccaro has a 93 percent save percentage this season, having allowed just two goals.
“In hockey especially, I really think the goalie position is crucial,” Pagliuca said. “If you don’t have somebody or a group that plays consistent at goalie, it can really impact wins and losses. We’re fortunate enough that we have stability and consistency. One of the strengths of our team this year is our goaltending.”
Vaccaro said the St. Mary’s goalies are a tight-knit group.
“It’s really important for me to try and lead them as much as I can, on and off the ice,” Vaccaro said. “It helps all of us in competition. We give each other tips on what we can do better. It’s a great support system. They aren’t just great goalies but they’re also great people.”
Although the Spartans are off to an ideal start, St. Mary’s has a long way to go. The Spartans have a tough upcoming stretch with games against state tournament mainstays in Reading, Austin Prep, Peabody and Winthrop.
“It’s important for us to take it one game at a time,” Vaccaro said. “We don’t want to look too far ahead and we don’t want to look to the past. We’re going into a tough stretch of teams here. I think we just need to take it one step at a time.”
St. Mary’s hosts Reading Wednesday night (8) in a battle of undefeated teams at William P. Connery Rink.
