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SL Boys Lacrosse bests Whitman-Hanson 11-4

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A strong start to their Monday bout against the Whitman-Hanson Panthers kept the Silver Lake High boys’ lacrosse team on the proper track.

Hosting the Patriot League Keenan Division opponent, the Lakers managed to snap a two-game losing streak en route to an 11-4 home win to start the week. With the victory, the Lakers improved to 4-3 on the season, giving them a winning record once again as they battle in hopes of earning a playoff spot yet again this season.

The Lakers got hot early in the game which helped in the long haul because the momentum seemed to carry over into the quarters to follow. The Lakers offense really connected early, so they were up 5-1 at the end of the first quarter. From there, the defense did most of the work, allowing just one goal in the second quarter as the team went into halftime leading 7-2.

In the second half, the Lakers defense shined yet again. While they allowed two goals in the third quarter, they shut out their foe in the fourth, taking the pressure off the offense to perform. Even so, they still outscored their opponent 4-2 in the second half thanks to great defense and goaltending.

In the win, junior Sean Daly (2 goals, 4 assists) and sophomore Greg Wolff (4 goals, 1 assist), both of whom are midfielders, led the Lakers’ scoring effort. Junior attacker Brendan Dean and sophomore attacker Dhruva Nugent each had two goals apiece while senior attacker Owen Nally had the team’s other goal on the day.

Prior to the win, the Lakers had dropped back-to-back games against quality opponents. Scituate beat them 13-7 on Tuesday, Apr. 24 and two days later, they lost 13-6 to Hingham.

The Lakers next game is a non-league bout this Friday, May 4 at home against Rockland, 4 p.m. start time.

Seniors will carry SL baseball team

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Based on the MaxPreps schedule, the Silver Lake High baseball team should have played twice already this season. They would have been given an opportunity to show just how strong they could be with an experienced squad this season. However, the weather has stopped that from occurring early in the season.

The Lakers’ bouts against East Bridgewater on April 3 and Plymouth South on April 9 were cancelled, like almost any other spring varsity team at the school. Unlike those other teams, however, the Lakers have 12 seniors on their roster this season– another reason they could go far this season.

Not only did they go 14-7 last year, the Lakers have some younger talent on their roster–like pitchers Alex Heffernan and Nolan Hughes–but it’s a senior-laden squad.

The team’s ace pitcher, Dan Collins, is a senior, as is their catcher Josh Harvey, who batted .383 last season. Both of them were Patriot League All-Stars in 2017.

Their classmate, Stephen Quigley, will man shortstop and has been on varsity for three years, so he will certainly be dependable. The same could be said for Jake Armstrong, who became an asset to the Lakers lineup at the plate as last season progressed.

Since they have an older ballclub this year, expectations for the Lakers are high this year, which is justified because they have a talented squad.

In all likelihood, the Lakers next game will be Saturday, Apr. 14, against West Springfield at Plymouth North High School (time TBD).

SL girls tennis should be competitive again

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The Silver Lake High girls’ tennis team looks like they are built for success this season.

The Lakers are coming off of a strong 2017 campaign where they went 11-7 and made a playoff appearance. It was a major upgrade over the two seasons prior where they won just one game combined. Now that they have tasted success and have an experienced team coming back, it appears that they will likely continuemoving forward.

The Lakers will be without their second doubles team from last season that featured Allie Kappen and Margaret Ingmanson, who both graduated last spring. They were a valuable tandem winning 11 matches in 2017, but the Lakers 2018 team still has a powerful lineup.

This lineup includes junior Sarah Gonick, who stepped into the No. 1 role last season, went 11-7 in those difficult matches and earned a Patriot League All-Star nod. With another year of experience to her credit, Gonick will be a major asset to the team yet again.

Senior Abby Baker went 12-6 in the No. 2 singles spot for the Lakers last season, giving the team a top-notch player there. Plus, junior Morgan Suschecki ended up taking the No. 3 role last season and posted a winning record, so having her back with even more experience is definitely beneficial.

On first doubles, senior Emma Hamilton was a fixture all of last season and the team certainly has some good depth since senior Emma Hall and sophomore Grace Eddy both have experience in the role as well.

The team’s success should also help them earn more depth because it may have helped create more interest in the program.

The Lakers next game is scheduled for Monday, Apr. 9. In it, they will face Plymouth South on the road (4:00 p.m. start time), weather permitting.

Lakers Softball ready to go!

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This Silver Lake High softball team might look a little bit different in 2018, but that is no reason to doubt their forcast for success. Year after year, the Lakers have found the right pieces to establish themselves into a powerhouse program. Keep in mind, this is the team head coach Tony Pina led to a 25-1 record last season and has amassed a 94-7 record over the past four seasons. It would not make sense to expect aprogram of that caliber to completely drop just because they lost some strong players.

Sure, there might be Emily Critch, Caroline Videtto or Jillian Richards out there, but the Lakers are still confident in what they have this time around.

Brenna Welch will take the ball for the Lakers this season in just about every game like Richards did last season. Welch pitched well on varsity last season when needed; the senior earned her share of innings in relief. Now, the Lakers have junior Amanda Harris moving behind the plate to fill the void left by Critch, the school’s alltime home run leader. Harris did not catch last season, but she was a valuable piece of the lineup who recorded multiple hits in the team’s playoff win over King Philip then. The Lakers lineup as has a few returning players, all of whom thrived last season. Such players include: first baseman Hannah Mitchell, a junior; left fielder Izzy Ruprecht, a junior; and sophomore Ari Sylvester, who plays third base. Each of them hit over. 300 last season and has speed that should help the ball club.

Defensively, Michaela Nista and junior Jessica Stas will be assets for the team in the outfield while senior Coyle Shropshire provides the team with defensive versatility as a utility player.

The Lakers next game is Monday, Apr. 9 (3:30 p.m.) on the road vs. Plymouth South.

Seniors propelled girls’ basketball

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The Silver Lake girls’ basketball team wrapped up a special season earlier this month.

The Lakers played tough defense, greatly improved their results from the season before and reached the playoffs for the first time since 1989 during their 16-7 season. In the process, the Lakers won a pair of playoff games over both Canton and New Mission before Foxboro knocked them out in the Division 2 South Sectional Semifinals.Certainly, that was a major achievement in Olly deMacedo’s first season as the team’s head coach. The Lakers had some serious talent on their squad this season, producing three Patriot League All-Stars: seniors Allie Crawford and Sydney Kehoe as well as sophomore Holly Reeder-Morning. In fact, Crawford was the runnerup in Patriot League MVP voting.

Kehoe averaged a double- double per game (at least 10 points and 10 rebounds) while Reeder-Morning was the team’s leading scorer; thesophomore put up around 12 points per contest.

It’s not like they were the Lakers only contributors either. There were plenty of them. For example, senior Alyssa Nelson and her classmate Annabelle Boudreau were anchors in the team’s starting five, playing strong 2-way basketball. Nelson even had a game where she put up 24 points.

Seeing playing time off the bench, freshman Riley Dunphy excelled defensively; freshman Molly Terbush, junior Stephanie Bennett and senior Emily Hapgood were among the team’s other valuable bench contributors.

Next year, the Lakers will be left with just one player from their starting five (Reeder- Morning) as they have five seniors set to graduate this spring, including four of their starters.

Next winter, the team’s starting lineup will definitely look different than it did a couple of weeks ago. That said, there are still a few experience players coming back, there will just be more opportunity for younger players to prove their worth.

Seniors propelled girls’ basketball

By

The Silver Lake girls’ basketball team wrapped up a special season earlier this month.

The Lakers played tough defense, greatly improved their results from the season before and reached the playoffs for the first time since 1989 during their 16-7 season. In the process, the Lakers won a pair of playoff games over both Canton and New Mission before Foxboro knocked them out in the Division 2 South Sectional Semifinals.Certainly, that was a major achievement in Olly deMacedo’s first season as the team’s head coach. The Lakers had some serious talent on their squad this season, producing three Patriot League All-Stars: seniors Allie Crawford and Sydney Kehoe as well as sophomore Holly Reeder-Morning. In fact, Crawford was the runnerup in Patriot League MVP voting.

Kehoe averaged a double- double per game (at least 10 points and 10 rebounds) while Reeder-Morning was the team’s leading scorer; thesophomore put up around 12 points per contest.

It’s not like they were the Lakers only contributors either. There were plenty of them. For example, senior Alyssa Nelson and her classmate Annabelle Boudreau were anchors in the team’s starting five, playing strong 2-way basketball. Nelson even had a game where she put up 24 points.

Seeing playing time off the bench, freshman Riley Dunphy excelled defensively; freshman Molly Terbush, junior Stephanie Bennett and senior Emily Hapgood were among the team’s other valuable bench contributors.

Next year, the Lakers will be left with just one player from their starting five (Reeder- Morning) as they have five seniors set to graduate this spring, including four of their starters.

Next winter, the team’s starting lineup will definitely look different than it did a couple of weeks ago. That said, there are still a few experience players coming back, there will just be more opportunity for younger players to prove their worth.

Girls’ lacrosse looking forward

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The makeup of the team might be a little different, but the goal is still the same for the Silver Lake girls’ lacrosse team. 

The Lakers made school history last season, earning their first ever playoff bid with about one quarter of their season still remaining when they achieved that feat. Ultimately, they finished the year at 14-7 following a first round playoff loss to Hingham. Following that game which marked the end of their season, they lost eight seniors to graduation: midfielder Lea Mason and Nina Whidden, defenders Jessica Huard, Tess Griever, Mikaela Wilson, Danielle Levin, Taylor Barnett and attackers Lyndsay Kramer. 

That said, the makeup of this year’s Lakers team is a little more clear. Obviously, the majority of their losses came on the defensive side of the ball. Although it will be tough to replace that experience, the Lakers will likely try to make up for it on the attack. They return senior Cameron Daly, who put up a team-high 55 goals last season.She was a Patriot League All-Star, and the same could be said for goaltender Devin Zambruno, who is also a senior.

Claudia Scigliano (26 goals), Ann Chapman (23 goals), Colleen Foley (21 goals) and Sarah Brockway (15 goals) are also back yet again, so the Lakers return five of their top six scorers from last season. If that is an indicator, then the Lakers should be able to pile on the goals this season; they will likely also be able to limit other team’s scoring with the talent they have in net. With the graduations the team suffered, there are still opportunities for younger players to shine this season too even if there is a strong veteran presence.

The squad, coached by Taylor Wiedmann, will open up their season on Tuesday, April 3 at home against Whitman- Hanson, weather permitting.

Silver Lake athletes honored

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Earlier this month, the Silver Lake High athletic department hosted its annual Winter Sports Awards Night, recognizing the hard work of some athletes from every one of the Lakers winter varsity teams. Here’s a look at the awards they were presented.

Cheerleading

Chloe Shirkjian earned the team’s Patriot League Scholar Athlete Award while Jillian Hickey earned the team’s Patriot League SportsmanshipAward.

Boys Indoor Track

Patriot League All-Star Max Shirkjian was recognized at the ceremony, as were Scholar Athlete Award winner William d’Entremont and Sportsmanship Award winner Conor O’Leary.

Girls Indoor Track

The team had three athlete award winners: league All-Star Maddy Schlager, Sportsmanship Award recipient Tess Lally and Karen Ho, the team’s Scholar Athlete.

Wrestling

This year’s Lakers squad featured three Patriot League All-Stars: Daniel Walsh, Kyler Bauer and Gavin Hamilton. Plus, Kyle Cipullo received the team’s Sportsmanship Award while Scott Snell was their Scholar Athlete.

Boys Basketball

The Lakers had an All-Star in Tyler Duggan. Matthew Bettle was their Scholar Athlete and JJ Silverberg was their Sportsmanship Award recipient.

Girls Basketball

The Lakers produced three All-Stars in Holly Reeder-Morning, Allie Crawford and Sydney Kehoe. Alyssa Nelson won their Sportsmanship Award while Sydney Kehoe was their scholar athlete.

Boys Hockey

John Evans was the boys’ hockey team’s lone Patriot League All-Star, but he was joined by Sportsmanship Award winner Cam Duff and Scholar Athlete Ryan Sullivan at the award ceremony.

Girls Hockey

Natalie Nemes earned both the Patriot League All-Star and Sportsmanship nod for the co-op while Colleen Hughes took home the Scholar Athlete Award.

Boys Swimming

Collin Billings received the team’s Scholar Athlete Award; Nate Coombe earned their Sportsmanship Award.

Girls Swimming

Madison Milbert was honored for winning the 100 backstroke and 200 individual medley Division 1 State championships this past winter. She was one of her team’s three All-Stars along with Alexa Connors and Katherine Morrissey. Audrey Cushman won their Sportsmanship Award and Morrissey was also their Scholar Athlete.

Halifax’s Grindle stands out at BSU softball

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It’s not softball weather up in New England just yet, but one Halifax native has already been dominant on the diamond for the Bridgewater State softball team.

Shannon Grindle stood out for the Division 3 Bears during their trip to Florida earlier in the month and was recognized for her achievement. The week of March 12, she was named the MASCAC (Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference) Player of the Week.

The sophomore, who is listed as a first baseman and third baseman, earned the award because she tore the cover off the ball during her team’s trip down south. She played in eight of the team’s ten games and collected 13 hits in 25 at-bats, good for a .520 batting average. Not only that, but she belted three home runs, two doubles, knocked in 11 runs and drew four walks. That said, she posted a .586 on-base percentage and .960 slugging percentage in that span.

Grindle’s bat has been a major lift for an otherwise subpar start for Bridgewater State. They went 3-7 on their road trip despite that huge performance from Grindle.

That said, they likely would not have had that many wins if they did not have the excellent performance Grindle gave the team. It is also worth noting at the start of this week, Grindle led the conference in RBI (11) and home runs (3).

Grindle was also a regular in Bridgewater State’s lineup last season and among their top hitters. She finished 2017 with a .364 batting average, two home runs, 10 doubles and 34 runs driven in and a .410 on-base percentage.

At Bridgewater State, Grindle is also teammates with her former high school teammate, freshman infielder Alexandra Ruprecht, who is from Kingston.

Bridgewater State has not played any games since March 8 because of several postponements. Their next scheduled games are a doubleheader at Rhode Island College on Tuesday, Mar. 27, weather permitting.

SL teacher leading Mashpee basketball to greatness

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The Silver Lake High boys’ basketball team might not have made it to the MIAA postseason tournament this year, but that does not mean there were not any Lakers connections in it that did well.

In fact, there was one Laker whose team thrived this postseason. That would be former Silver Lake boys’ basketball coach Rick Boulrisse, who continues to work in the school’s wellness department as a physical education teacher.

Boulrisse, who was the Lakers head varsity coach from 2005 to 2007 (and an assistant for a few years prior to that), currently serves as the Mashpee Falcons head coach–and they are having an excellent season. With him in charge, they won the Division 4 South playoff bracket, giving them an opportunity to play at TD Garden for the MIAA State semifinals. It is the first time the Falcons have ever made it to this level in the playoffs; they have also never won a state title.

In order to make it to TD Garden, Boulrisse’s Falcons came up with a 73-54 win over a South Shore League rival, the Cohasset Skippers, on Saturday, March 10.

Boulrisse has been the head coach at Mashpee High since the start of the 2012-2013 season. Prior to his tenure at Silver Lake, Boulrisse, who is from Maine, coached basketball at Sumner High School in his home state.

The emergence of some underdog playoff teams has been a major development during this year’s MIAA boys’ basketball tournament. Of the 16 teams remaining by the state semifinal round, 10 of them had never won a state title, Mashpee included.

This past season, the Lakers just missed out on a tournament appearance, finishing out the year at 8-12. They did finish the season on a high note, winning their last two games.