Saugus boys lacrosse: young team shows resilience in challenging season

By Dom Nicastro

Saugus High School’s boys lacrosse team, led by Coach Rob Scuzzarella, is navigating a challenging yet promising season. Despite facing formidable opponents and sporting a 4-9 record heading into their final three games, the team has shown resilience and growth. Coach Scuzzarella shared insights into the season’s ups and downs, the progress of his players, and his hopes for the future.

The Sachems have shown resilience in the face of adversity. They are a super-young team loaded with eighth-graders and freshmen, but those youngsters have navigated the rough varsity terrain. It helps that the Sachems have gotten plenty of standout leadership from senior captains Ryan Jones and Cam Preston.

Coach Scuzzarella acknowledges the team’s difficult start but emphasizes their ability to bounce back and show resilience. Despite setbacks, the team had a significant improvement streak, winning three out of four games, including a victory against an opponent that beat them last time (Salem).

“We had a really good week last week,” Scuzzarella said. “Saturday morning, we beat Salem, who had beaten us earlier in the year which was nice.”

The coach highlights the importance of mental readiness and the challenges of coaching a young team through tough games. What has been the reason for the turnaround as of late?

“The kids were just ready to go,” Scuzzarella said. “In these games that we’ve been getting crushed in, effort’s really been an issue… it’s hard to coach through that, especially with a really young group.”

However, Coach Scuzzarella is pleased with the progress of his young players lately, particularly eighth and ninth graders who have stepped up significantly. He cited eighth-grade goalie Conor Lacey and eighth-grade midfielders Cam Marchand, Jake Kelley and Domenic Migliozzi. The former two eighth-graders are among the scoring leaders, and Migliozzi has shown marked improvement.

“Conor has been great in the cage,” Scuzzarella said. “Cam Marchand and Jake Kelley have been really good. They’re both workhorses for us.”

The senior players and team captains, Jones and Preston, have shown exceptional leadership and dedication, setting a strong example for the younger team members.

“Our captains have given me everything,” Scuzzarella said. “They’ve done a lot for this team. It’s hard on those guys because we’re so young, but they’ve really stepped up.”

Scuzzarella sees great potential in his young team and believes that with continued effort and cohesion, they can become a formidable force in the future.

“If these kids all stuck together… we’d have a good chance of being a pretty good team in a couple of years,” the coach said.

Despite the ups and downs, Coach Scuzzarella remains hopeful for a strong finish to the season, with three games left against teams they have previously beaten (Malden, Lynn, and Revere).

“If we win the last three games, we finish 7-9,” Scuzzarella said. “That would be pretty special, to be honest, considering we didn’t have a team last year.”

Under Coach Rob Scuzzarella’s leadership, the Saugus High School boys lacrosse team is navigating a season filled with challenges and growth. With a strong focus on fundamentals, mental toughness and the development of young talent, Scuzzarella is building a foundation for future success.

As the team approaches the end of the season, there is a renewed sense of optimism and determination to finish strong and build on their progress for the coming years. A strong finish can only help.

“Hopefully they get a nice mental boost,” the coach said, “from having already beaten these teams.”

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