Lacrosse.htm

Saugus 9, Lynn 6

At Manning Field, Sean Winchell led Lynn (2-14) with two goals. Jeff Gaudet, Joe LeBlanc, Titany Louep and Sean Crowley had a goal each.

John Poth had four goals and assisted on three more to help the Swampscott boys lacrosse team defeat Lynn, 12-6, Thursday at Manning Field.
"The Lynn team played very aggressive," Swampscott coach Josh Fields said. "We did a lot of good things against a good team. I though our defense played great."
The Big Blue (8-8) also had scoring from A.J. Zarinsky (3 goals, 2 assists); Ben Wollerscheid (2 goals) and Sam Phillips, Pat Flynn and Charlie Fischer, one goal each. Matt Nutter (11 saves) was in net.
Sean Crowley was the big gun for Lynn with four goals. Mike Lynn and Tim Shirley added the other two and Chris Donofrio (11 saves) was in net.

Peabody 16, Lynn 2 Daily Item Roundup

At Lynn, Peabody improved to 8-2 (7-0 in the NEC) on the season with a runaway victory over Lynn.

Lynn's record dropped to 0-10 (0-8 NEC).

The Tanners jumped out to a 9-0 lead at halftime. Billy Daly led the Tanners with four goals and two assists in the contest. Michael Pennachio, Rich Grillo, Derek West, and Mark Jessi all scored two goals apiece for the Tanners. Justin Famigletti was in goal for Peabody.

Kris Murphy and Sean Crowley each scored one goal for Lynn.

Swampscott 12, Lynn 5

At Swampscott, A.J. Zarinsky scored five goals to help the Big Blue improve to 7-6. Ben Wollerscheid had three goals and Pat DeChillo, Emerson Rukowski, Pat Flynn and Charlie Fisher chipped in one each. Matt Nutter was in net.

Lynn (0-9) had three goals by Titeny Louep and one each from Liam Bransfield and Mark Moise. Chris Donofrio was busy in net with 23 saves.

Salem 8, Lynn 7 4/18/08

At Manning Field, Lynn's Sean Crowley and Titany Louep each scored three goals, but the Witches fought back from a 6-4 deficit after three quarters to send the game to overtime, where they won it. Kris Murphy also had a goal for Lynn and Chris Donofrio made 15 saves.

Marblehead's Will Beringer had five goals and an assist with teammates Jay King and Tucker Cohen each contributing two goals. Matt Williams, Nick Tobin, Jackson Barber, Ellery Smith, Mike DiFilippo and Aaron Reny had single goals for the Magicians (2-2).

Saugus 10, Lynn 6 4/11/08

At Saugus, Anthony Howell and Gilson Fernandez each had a pair of goals, and six other players, Mike Scuzzarella, Hudson Henriques, Craig Copper, James Donovan, Corey Laderbush and James Sparks, added one each for the Sachems, who are 2-0 under new coach William Robinson. Eric Knibbs (11 saves) got the job done in net.

Lynn (0-3) found itself down 8-1 at the half. Tatany Louep had two goals and an assist; Sean Winchell (goal, 2 assists) and Mike Lynch, Kris Murphy and Sean Crowley (single goals) also did well. Chris D'Onofrio (15 saves) was in net.

The combined Classical/English boys lacrosse team came up short in its debut Thursday at Manning Field.

Lynn led 4-2 at the half, but Bishop Fenwick came to life after the break to pull out a 6-5 win and improve to 2-1.

"We had a couple of opportunities we didn't quite finish on," Lynn coach Chris Simbliaris said. "But it definitely was good today. The kids were all fired up."

Titenny Louep and Sean Crowley each had two goals for Lynn with Kris Murphy accounting for the other goal. Chris D'Onofrio was in the net.

"D'Onofrio played an outstanding game," Simbliaris said. "The saves he made were just unreal. He made a lot of point-blank saves when the game was close."

Fenwick's Pat Doliber (2 goals, 2 assists) tied the game with about eight minutes remaining and Bobby Tarr (goal, 2 assists) supplied the game-winner three minutes later. Eamon Barrett (2 goals) and John Baker (goal, assist) also helped out offensively. Craig Forrest (16 saves) was in net.

"The Lynn kids, they took it to us," Fenwick coach Jay Richards said. "They came out like they've played three or four games already."

Lynn captain Al Lewis, left, and junior Tim Shirley work out at practice Wednesday at Manning Field. (ITEM PHOTO / REBA M. SALDANHA)

LYNN -- The imaginary line that separates East Lynn from West Lynn blurred a little this winter with merger of the English and Classical hockey teams, and it's even fuzzier this spring now that the rival schools have also joined forces in lacrosse.

The Lynn lacrosse team (there is no team nickname) hit the Manning Field turf running this week with 63 players (51 from Classical and 12 from English) showing up for tryouts. Coach Chris Simbliaris has since trimmed the list to 54.

Simbliaris is excited about the team's prospects this season, despite the fact neither Lynn team fared well last year. Classical finished 2-16, but Simbliaris said he knew it would be a rebuilding year. The team lost 11 seniors from the 2006 squad that qualified for the state tournament for the first time in the history of the program.

Simbliaris had many underclassmen playing last year, and he's hoping the year of experience, combined with the influx of players from English, will translate into some success this year.

"It's definitely going to be a good year for the program," he said, "I think it's a win-win situation for both teams."

Simbliaris said many of the players already knew each other through other sports, like hockey, baseball and soccer, so it hasn't been much of an adjustment.

"The kids really don't care (about the team being merged). They just want to play the game," he said.

Simbliaris is still sorting through the talent, but there are several players from both teams who he expects will be key in the team's success. He has three senior captains, defenseman Alex Lewis and midfielder Kris Murphy from Classical, and junior defender Dan Lucier from English. Senior defender Chris Voyiagis (Classical), attackman Tim Shirley (English) and goalie Chris D'Onofrio have also stood out in the pack.

When the Classical and English hockey teams merged for the 2007-08 season, one of the big questions involved team colors. Combining maroon and gray with green and gold was a challenge, so the hockey team went with a neutral color scheme in red, white and blue. The hockey team also went with a neutral nickname, the Jets.

The lacrosse team will forgo a nickname, according to Simbliaris. The team will wear green helmets and green gloves. The home jersey will be gray and the away shirt will be black; the shorts will also be black.

The one semi-casualty of the merger is the Lynn tournament, which featured all four teams (Classical, English, St. Mary's and Tech) last year. Tech coach Brad Tilley has opted to not have his team play in the tournament, leaving only the combined Lynn team and St. Mary's.

Simbliaris said the Lynn team will play the Spartans for the championship, and next year, there will be two new teams in the tournament to bring the total back to four. In addition to its Northeastern Conference schedule, the Lynn team will play non-league games against Bishop Fenwick, North Reading, Wakefield, Pentucket and St. Mary's. Lynn opens the season Thursday, April 3, at home against Fenwick.

Joining Simbliaris on the bench will be Ed Brandt, a former Waltham High varsity assistant coach. Peter Papagianopoulos, who teaches at Classical's 9th-grade academy, will also help out. The team will tune up for opening day with scrimmages against Manchester-Essex and Burlington.

Chris Simbliaris will coach the new combined Classical-English lacrosse team this spring.

Simbliaris interviewed for the job Monday and was notified Wednesday that he had been hired. Simbliaris has been the Classical head coach for the last six years. English head coach Kevin Driscoll did not apply for the job.

The merger of the two lacrosse programs marks the second such Classical-English collaboration. The hockey team merged under a new name, the Lynn Jets, and is midway through its inaugural season. Like the hockey merger, the lacrosse arrangement is for two years and will then come up for review.

Simbliaris said the details of the merger are still being worked out. Although the hockey team adopted a neutral set of colors (red, white and blue) and a new nickname (the Jets), Simbliaris wasn't sure how these issues would be handled with lacrosse. He said he initially thought the team would still be called Classical and the English athletes would be welcome to play, but now he's hearing it will be called Lynn. He said at this point, the team will wear Classical helmets and gloves, but he wasn't sure about the rest of the uniform.

"There isn't enough money in the budget to buy new uniforms and equipment," he said.

Despite the uniform alterations, Simbliaris said, "The merger pretty much doesn't change anything." He added that the only real difference is that he'll have English players on the team.

Simbliaris said he hopes to be able to have more practices at Manning Field so that English players wouldn't have to make the trek to Classical every day, but that would depend on field availability. If the team doesn't practice at Manning, it will use the field behind Classical, with the junior varsity games being played at Hood Park.

The team will play the Classical schedule, although Simbliaris said he'll have to pick up a couple more games to compensate for the English games.

Although the Classical-English hockey merger was prompted by low numbers at both schools, particularly at Classical, the lacrosse numbers at Classical are still good. Simbliaris said he's expecting around 40 returning players. The English numbers had dropped off considerably last year. Simbliaris said he's expecting around eight to 10 returning players from English.

Both programs were starting to feel the effects of a lack of a youth lacrosse program in the city. The Lynn Youth Lacrosse league folded, and Lynn youngsters who want to play lacrosse must go to Salem.

Driscoll said when lacrosse was first introduced at many area high schools, most communities were in the same boat as far as getting players who had never played the game before. That has changed. Youth lacrosse is thriving in many neighboring communities, while it's nonexistent in Lynn.

"Numbers are definitely low in the city," Driscoll said. "With no more youth program, it's tough to support two teams."