End of the road for Red Raider lacrosse team

Melrose (18-2) exits playoffs early after Reading upset

Published in the June 15, 2018 edition

By JENNIFER GENTILE

MELROSE—You could see the pain visible in the faces of the young Melrose Red Raider lacrosse players who walked off Melrose’s Fred Green Field on Tuesday in a position they were unaccustomed to this season: losing.

No. 1 seeded Melrose, a top 5 ranked team in the state, weren’t the only ones stunned when No. 4 seed Reading (13-7) upset Melrose (18-2) at home in an 11-6 loss that will no doubt linger over the summer in the minds of players and coaching staff.

After the loss, Melrose head coach Matt James stood sober on the sideline, taking it in. He said of Reading, “When they took a lead, they sat in the zone, which was smart of them, and normally our zone D is good but something was off. The ground balls tended to bounce their way. Four of our shots hit the crossbars and 5 hit the pipes. But [Reading] played the right way and I give them credit. We seemed to lack rhythm today.”

READING PROVED too much for Melrose in the Div. 2 North state semifinal on Tuesday and beat Melrose, 11-6 on Tuesday to end the Red Raiders’ season. (Donna Larsson photo)

Melrose had previously beaten Reading this season in a one-run 11-10 game, but that was without Reading standout Jack Geiger. On Tuesday the Rockets came looking to avenge their loss, while Melrose came off a comfortable 12-8 opening round win over Masconomet (Christian Nyland led in scoring with four goals, Jack Wells had 3 and Mike Calvert had 2 g, 3 a). It was reasonable for Melrose and their fans to be cautiously optimistic about their chances going into Tuesday. Many banked Melrose on making a run at the Div. 2 North title, and perhaps beyond.

But from the start of the game, you could sense that there was something off about the Red Raiders. There were missed ground balls, awkward passing, communication struggles and uncharacteristic turnovers. A 20 mile-per-hour wind seemed to add difficulty to Melrose’s passing, while Reading seemed unaffected. A normally rowdy Melrose fan section seemed stumped over what was going on. Their Red Raiders had a home field advantage, after all.

That’s not to take away from a very crisp Rocket squad, who were led in scoring by Jack Stanton and Mike Tobin (who combined for 6 goals) but it was not the return of Geiger that made the difference in this meeting, but a machine-like Rocket performance that boasted a stifling defense and strong play at the net by Charlie Guiliotti. Melrose scored just six goals, two from Mike Calvert, and a goal apiece from underclassmen Matt Dussault, Andrew Calvert, Chris Cusolito and Christian Nyland.

After a scoreless first five minutes, the two teams swapped ties of 2, 3 and 4 until Reading took a lead of 5-4 at the half. By the end of the third, Reading took a 7-5 lead and the game no longer felt like a tossup. Reading went on a scoring spree in the fourth and by the time the horn signaled the end of the game, Melrose had given up 11 goals. The only other game this season in which they gave up double-digit goals? Reading—on May 4. So the Rockets proved how dangerous a full roster could be. 

Despite the disappointing end, James was pleased with a few efforts on the field. “I thought Chris Cusolito played well in faceoffs; he made some good shots and tried to will himself through the zone. And I really liked the play of Brendan Maher on defense.”

When asked what he told the team after the game, James was generous. “I had so much to say but couldn’t say it all at that moment. All positive. They achieved so much this season. It just doesn’t feel done—we had a few more games left in us. And it’s hard to end this way, hard for our seniors who are going to be so difficult to replace.” 

That includes their senior captains, Freedom League MVP Jack Wells (recruited to play at Div. 2 St. Anselm’s next season), Lou Izzi, who will play at University of New England and Mike Calvert, a multi-sport star who has been with James since freshmen year. They helped lead Melrose to the best record in the history of the program (18-2). Recently, three Raiders were named All American by the EMLCA: Matt Rocha, Jack Wells and Cam Rosie. Melrose has a total of eight All Stars on this year’s team: MVP Wells, Matt Dussault, Brendan Fennell, Chris Cusolito, Andy Calvert, Matt Rocha,  Cam Rosie and Lou Izzi. 

Those are feats that help ease the burn regardless of Tuesday’s outcome. Melrose also returns Rocha at the net next year, along with a number of underclassmen attackers like Nyland, Dussault, Cusolito, Brendan Fennell and middie Andy Calvert. James also feels confident about the junior varsity defensive units coming through the tunnel. Thus, they are strong contenders for another league title. 

Still, losing his experienced seniors, including Melrose’s tri-captains, is tough to swallow. “Every year we comment about how these classes who leave us get better and better,” says James. “These guys did everything right. They showed passion in the game, played during the offseason, kept up strong grades, were good members of society and committed to conditioning at the gym. Their character is so strong that if our younger kids can mimic that, there will be no telling what we can do.”