LCHS LACROSSE 2008
Lacrosse Head Coach: Chris Simbliaris
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.
Swampscott 12, Lynn 6
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 Beats Classical
At Manning Field, Lynn (0-4) trailed only 5-3 at the half but penalties helped the visitors break the game open with 10 second-half goals.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.
Lynn Lacrosse Loses Close Opening Game
The combined Classical/English boys lacrosse team came up short in its debut Thursday at Manning Field."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."
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| Lynn captain Al Lewis, left, and junior Tim Shirley work out at practice Wednesday at Manning Field. (ITEM PHOTO / REBA M. SALDANHA) |
Classical, English Join Forces for Lynn Lacrosse Team
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.

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Simbliaris to Coach Combined Classical-English Lacrosse Team
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."
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