PEABODY — Bishop Fenwick’s boys lacrosse team hosted Beverly Tuesday night in a scrimmage. The score aside (it was 6-6, by the way), head coach Dave MacKenzie liked what he saw from a mentality standpoint.
He praised his group’s “no quit” mindset, as Fenwick was actually trailing by two goals late.
“[The] first thing I think of after that scrimmage is the lack of quitting,” MacKenzie said. “Beverly went on a bit of a run and took the lead from us. No one panicked on our team and we were able to tie it up, and were pressing at the end to try and take the lead.”
Despite liking the mindset of his players, MacKenzie admitted the scrimmage was useful to see what his team needs to work on. For example, its transition game.
“Clears and rides are some things we need to work on,” MacKenzie said. “We need to make sure to tighten that up.”
Spring practices officially started last week, and MacKenzie said the coaching staff has seen “significant improvement” already.
“We’re happy with that [improvement], but we’re not settling with that,” MacKenzie said. “We can go as far as we want to go this season.”
Fenwick has chalked up, literally, four goals in the locker room: to win the state title; to win the league; to qualify for the postseason and host a game; and to win the Danish Cup, which MacKenzie said the team has never done before.
“It’s just the crosstown rivalry with Peabody. The boys never won it and we really want to this season,” MacKenzie said.
Goals are great, but execution is a different story. That said, it all starts with Fenwick’s depth.
Some players who are primed for big seasons are Matt O’Connor, Michael DiFelice, Manny Alvarez-Segee, Joey Marshall, and Chris Stevens.
MacKenzie is hopeful they will take the next steps in their development, and help the team take a step forward from last season.
This is MacKenzie’s second year in charge, and it all starts Monday, April 3 when Fenwick visits Manchester Essex at 4 p.m.
