By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The 2020 season was going to mark the beginning of a new era for Xaverian Brother’s High School varsity lacrosse. The hiring of former Medfield defense coordinator Daggett Morse as head coach, along with the return of a strong senior class, gave the Hawks reason for optimism.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the spring athletic season into cancellation, marking the end of the high school lacrosse-playing careers for the entire class of 2020.
Despite not coaching the Hawks in a game, Morse says it was obvious based on the work ethic presented leading up to the season that this group was capable of doing something special, and that this class of seniors exemplified everything the Xaverian lacrosse program stands for.
“The senior class had obviously made a great impact on the field for our program in past years, but I was most impressed with their enthusiasm and work ethic in the lead-up to what was supposed to be the spring athletics season,” said Morse. “Their leadership and the example they provided to our younger players will have a positive impact moving forward for Xaverian lacrosse.”
Two specific players who were due to make major contributions in 2020 for the Hawks were senior captains Teagan and Tanner Alexander, both committed to play at Bryant in the fall. Morse praised Teagan, a reigning Catholic Conference All-Star and BostonLax All-American goalie, for his dedication to his craft.
"Teagan's approach to his craft and excitement about working hard to better himself is infectious. It raised the bar for other guys on the team.”
Morse also gave credit to Tanner, a reigning Catholic Conference All-Star and BostonLax All-American LSM/close defenseman, for his resilience and determination.
“Tanner was working his way back from an injury suffered during wrestling season, and the way he attacked rehab in order to be ready for the season was inspiring. When two of your best players work that hard it becomes much harder for anyone else to slack off.”
Another senior who was set to play a big role for the Hawks in 2020 was senior Bates-committed midfielder Jack Daoust. Serving as the third Xaverian co-captain alongside the Alexander brothers, Dauost was set to serve as the focal point of Xaverian’s offense after leading scorer and All-Scholastic Harvard committed midfielder Andrew Perry transferred to Moses Brown.
“Jack was, in my mind, primed for a phenomenal season,” said Morse. “He has so many great tools to his game and this season was going to be a great chance for him to step into the spotlight and show those talents off to the state as a whole. He would have brought steady leadership to an offense that was going to have a lot of new faces, and high expectations when trying to live up to the class of 2019.”
Additionally, Xaverian also brought back a pair of sharpshooters to its offense in senior Quinnipiac committed midfielder Shaun Padden, as well as senior attack/midfielder Trevor Ivatts. Morse says the size and shots both players possess would have complemented the versatile skill set of Jack Daoust extremely well.
“Another guy I was very excited to see on the field was Shaun Padden,” said Morse. He brings some size to the offense that isn't always easy to deal with and he had worked himself into a confident scorer. Alongside Jack [Daoust], he would have had a great impact for us offensively. Additionally, Trevor Ivatts is a lefty with a cannon for a shot. We had hoped to have him working off of that wing all season long, attacking the middle of the field and giving him a lot of net to shoot at. Those three seniors on offense were definitely set up for success.”
Morse also went on to praise senior Evan Seto, who was set to breakout on Xaverian’s defensive unit.
“Defensively, a guy no one really knew about outside of our team was Evan Seto, who was my personal choice to break out the most,” said Morse. “I was enamored with the athleticism he was going to bring to our defense down low, alongside Max Carlino, Tanner Alexander and Liam Chambers.”
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as game highlights, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram @flano0.
