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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
A 16-3 regular season and a Bay State Conference crown earned the Needham High School boys lacrosse team the No. 2 overall seed in Division I South last spring. However, the Rockets saw their season come to a tough end in the form of a 14-7 loss to No. 3 Duxbury on their home field in the sectional semifinals.
Despite losing a deep and talented senior class from last season (Sam Eisenstadt, Joe Bruno, Antonio Trabucco) the Needham boys have their eyes set on a second straight Bay State Conference title and making another run at the state championship.
Leading the charge into battle for Needham this season will be a trio of senior captains in attack-man Danny McEvoy, midfielder John Andre, and midfielder Jack Malloy.
Losing an All-American Division I product like Sam Eisenstadt (UMass) at LSM and a money face-off man like Joe Bruno (Endicott) are not going to be easy fixes. However, McEvoy says that he and his teammates are ready to put in the extra work on draws and have new guys step in and fill those voids to allow increased possessions.
“With Bruno at the face-off X and Eisenstadt back on D and scooping up GB’s (ground balls) at LSM, we were able to have many extra offensive possessions last year,” said McEvoy. “This year, we will need to work harder on face-offs and on our defensive side to continue getting extra time in the offensive end, but we’re confident in the group we have.”
Along with the three captains, another key impact player returning for Needham this season is 2017 leading goal-scorer and consensus All-American junior attack-man, Jason Child. A Boston University commit, Child is arguably one of the most versatile and skilled players in the state, and his teammate and captain McEvoy is excited to go to work with the future Terrier, as well as the surplus of other weapons in the Needham midfield/attack corps.
“We’ve got Child coming back on attack,” said McEvoy. “Over the last few years, we’ve been able to build some great chemistry together. Our offense this year is full of experienced and talented players like Michael Calcagni, Brendan Walsh, and John Andre.”
Defensively, McEvoy says that Needham will rely on their senior goaltender, Andrew McNally, and an experienced set of long-poles to get the job done.
“On the defensive side, we are young, but very talented,” said McEvoy. “We got a hardworking group of guys. Max Sylvia, Hugh Curran, Ben Greenes, and goaltender Andrew McNally will hold down the fort.”
As far as expectations, McEvoy says that he and his teammates have big goals in mind for this season.
“Our main goal this season is to win,” said McEvoy. “We want to go undefeated in conference play, be No. 1 in Division I South again, and win the state championship.”
The Rockets will be tested out of the gate as Needham travels to face rival and Bay State Conference power Walpole for their season-opener on April 5.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
