LYNNFIELD — Lynnfield High has a new boys lacrosse coach.
Head football coach Pat Lamusta, an assistant coach under former lacrosse coach Joe Papagni, made it official last week.
“I had been approached about taking the job since last spring after Joe decided to retire,” said Lamusta, a 2008 graduate of Lynnfield High. “Ultimately, I love coaching, so it was just a matter of making it work with grad school, football, and other commitments.”
Lamusta was a four-year varsity veteran and senior captain of the football, basketball and lacrosse teams while at Lynnfield. He played four years of college football and earned a degree in history and business administration at Framingham State University after transferring from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. While at Framingham, he earned Massachusetts Association of State Colleges Conference (MASCAC) and New England Football Coaches (NEFC) All-Academic honors. He has been employed at Lynnfield High as a history teacher since 2014.
Lamusta inherits a team that has won only 14 games over the last three seasons and has not been to the tournament since 2016. Last year, the Pioneers struggled in all phases of the game, finishing with a program-low three wins, while losing 13, also a program worst.
Despite the lack of success in recent years, Lamusta knows he has big shoes to fill in following Papagni, who founded the team in 2003 and coached 264 games, compiling a record of 143-121.
“I’m going to coach the team to the best of my ability and the goal is that will yield wins. The focus is more on being competitive and less on the win-loss column,” said Lamusta. “Where would we be if he had not taken that first step in founding the team? As his assistant, I learned so much about brewing competition within the team at practice and translating it to games. Coach gave Lynnfield lacrosse a reputation for toughness, defense, and competitiveness. You can never count a team out with Coach Papagni leading the charge. There is no doubt these are tough shoes to fill.”
Papagni said the Pioneers could not have made a better choice.
“I’m glad he took it, as he would have been my recommendation, but I thought he was too busy with football,” said Papagni. “Pat will help bring out more athletes to complement the lax players we have. He is tremendously competitive and knows the game. I will do everything I can to support Pat.”
Lamusta comes into the spring season after a wildly successful run with the football team in just his second year as head coach. Lamusta guided the Pioneers to an 8-3 record and tournament berth after winning just three games as a rookie coach the year before.
When asked if that experience will increase the odds of a turnaround season for the lacrosse team, Lamusta said, “absolutely, the turnaround (also) needs captain leadership, so the expectations are high for these captains. Pete Razzaboni, John Simonetti, and Mitch McKay will do an awesome job because they are multi-sport athletes, and very competitive people. We have a very athletic group too, so this is a powerful blend of players and it has the potential to be a great season.”
Lamusta said he was encouraged with the 35-player turnout at a recent offseason team meeting and has already enlisted the services of former Pioneer teammate Evan Hammersley as an assistant.
“Our captains sent the message to the team that it is time to commit to a winning attitude and players need to be ready to compete come March 16,” Lamusta said. We are all excited to get to work.
“I am also pleased to bring Evan onto the staff, and he also won a national championship with Salisbury University. His knowledge of the game is expansive and his ability to develop players will be important for the program as we move forward.”
