PEABODY — St. Mary’s boys lacrosse team was firing on all cylinders Friday afternoon at Donaldson Field, defeating host Bishop Fenwick (4-5), 15-7, to improve to 2-4.
Finn Racki and Sal Brogna led the Spartans’ offense with five goals and two assists each. Dalton Diozzi chipped in three goals.
Fenwick’s Logan Connolly and Dylan Patturelli led the Crusaders’ offense with two goals and one assist each. Michael Paolini (assist), CJ Masone (assist), Frederick Pfishner, and PJ Tavernese also scored.
“Today, we were playing for each other,” said St. Mary’s coach Brendan Forrest. “Last year, one of the big things we focused on was ground balls win games. This year, it’s that turnovers are a sin, so now that they know that, we are starting to build a foundation for success.
“Fenwick is a good team. They are on the upswing, but had a bunch of guys who were out, so we were able to take advantage of that.”
Fenwick coach Brandon Boutin said Crusaders’ goalie Liam Kelsch “stood on his head today at times.
“He played well, but, as a team, we gave up some goals we shouldn’t have,” Boutin said. “The boys played well. Kelsch in net had some bright moments, but has some things to work on. The season is still young and we have a lot ahead of us. We’re pretty banged up right now, but if we had a full group, I think the game might have gone the other way. I’m happy to get back at it against these guys in a couple of weeks.”
Racki staked the Spartans to a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the game. Connolly (from Patturelli) knotted things up three minutes later.
After that, it was pretty much all St. Mary’s, which led 4-1 after one, 8-3 at the half, and 16-6 heading into the final 12 minutes.
Forrest credited face-off specialist Evan Toto for playing a key role and also highlighted the play of Racki’s twin, Caleb, as well as Brogna and Zach Gupta.
“Evan won most of the face-offs and that’s a huge part of our game,” Forrest said, “and those other three guys played really well today as well. They were all patient and played unselfishly as a team.”
Boutin highlighted the play of Masone, Dylan Patturelli, junior OG Pashado, and Connolly.
“CJ had a phenomenal day,” Boutin said. “He’s a senior captain who has really stepped up this year. Dylan is just a freight train. He’s a physical specimen who gets downfield really quick.
“OG and Logan were a couple of younger guys who got time today covering for some guys who are banged up and did a nice job. OG had three clears today and is a phenomenal difference from last year to this year. The sky’s the limit for that guy at 6-5 and 220 pounds. Today, we had a lot of guys who got some good reps under their belt, so hopefully, next time, we will be ready to go.”
Boutin was also happy with the play of Pfishner and Paolini.
“Freddy has some of the best hands around and has been a huge piece for us this year,” Boutin said. “Michael is only a sophomore and has really started to develop and come into his own. He was solid today with a couple of huge flashes out there.”
Fenwick’s (4-5) next game is Thursday against Malden Catholic at home (4 p.m.).
“Their head coach, Wayne Silva, is a former head coach here and a longtime coach on the North Shore who has been around,” Boutin said. “He’s a good guy and I know his guys will be ready to go, so it should be a chippy, physical game.”
The Spartans (2-4) are back in action Monday, April 27 against Monomoy at Manning Field (5:30 p.m..).
“We have the week off, but I’m going to try to do something,” Forrest said. “We don’t want to get any rust on us. I don’t know anything about Monomoy except they’re from the Cape and I’m glad they’re coming to see us as opposed to us going there and taking three hours to get there. Since it’s a long time until we play, I’ll try to see what I can find out about them from some of the other coaches.”
