After winning the ISL title last season, Belmont Hill Varsity Lacrosse is back in full swing. Along with many other Belmont Hill teams, they are off to a great start. Head Coach Tim Sullivan expects the team to “lean heavily on our senior class for leadership” and has “been very impressed with this group and [is] excited for how they will perform this season.” The team is led by Senior captains Charlie Cave ’22 and Tom Goguen ’22.
Preseason started before March break, with players from all grades, including freshmen. During the second week of March vacation, players returned for the school’s version of Hell Week, showing up every day for 9-4 practices and meetings. Coach Sullivan sees the week as a necessary means to start the season and looks to not only “install systems, practice and prepare, but for team bonding as well.” It is a first for many, as due to Covid restrictions last year and the cancellation of the spring season the year before, only the captains had been on the team to experience it.
The team then jumped into their season with three non-ISL games. Deerfield and Avon Old Farms were tough losses, yet Belmont Hill stayed in the game. Despite the two losses, Belmont hill has remained at the top of its game. In their second game, Belmont Hill held on to a nail-biting lead in a 9-8 win against the Hill School. The team has only improved, winning close games against ISL opponents Thayer, 11-7, Nobles, 14-11, and Tabor, 12-10, an impressive line-up. Blowouts are bound to happen with such an all-star team, and the team walloped Lawrence Academy, 20-9, and St. Marks, 17-2. In the St. Mark’s game, Liam Horkan ’22, Ben DiBattista ’24, and Ethan O’Neill had at least three goals.
Although the season is about halfway through, there is still a lot of competition to get excited about. New this year is the 8-team ISL playoff system. Hopefully, this will entail an exciting end to the season as eventful as the recent hockey and basketball seasons. Coach Sullivan encourages the work ethic to be kept up and wants the team “to work hard every day, compete in practice and of course enjoy the season.” Currently, the team is 7-2 and ranked first in the ISL and third in Massachusetts. The next home games are against Roxbury Latin on May 7 and May 14 against Milton Academy.
