A class of stars
Junior talent powers men's and women's lacrosse teams

Kelley Ruch | contributing writer
kruch@smcvt.edu

With 30 seconds of play left in the game, the score is tied at nine. The St. Michael's College men’s lacrosse team has possession, as junior Mark Agostinelli carries the ball up the field. He finds classmate Mike Boerma open on the outside. Boerma, now with the ball, cuts by his defender and spots junior Greg Lazarus open in front of the net. Whipping the ball through an open lane, Boerma connects with Lazarus, who fires a shot that sails over the goalie’s shoulder into the goal.

Agostinelli is known for his quick feet, apt stick skills, and scoring knack. (Photo courtesy of Seth Cole)

This scene, with juniors dominating play and reaping offensive havoc on opponents, has been common this season on the men's team. But it doesn't stop with the guys. The St. Michael's women's team is anchored by a few junior standouts of its own, including Brynne Curran and Amanda Soule.

Junior domination

The St. Michael’s men’s lacrosse team is 8-2 in the Northeast-10 conference, and 9-6 overall, defeating Pace University Tuesday, May 1 in the NE-10 quarterfinals.

“We’ve been pretty successful,” Agostinelli says. “We’ve reached our goals, which were to beat all the teams we did last year, and beat teams like St. Anselm’s and Merrimack.”

Out of 157 goals tallied in the season to date, 91 of them have come from Agostinelli, Lazarus and Boerma.

“We’ve played really well together and we have good team chemistry,” Lazarus says.

As the team finishes its regular season and readies itself for the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) tournament, there is already anticipation regarding next season.

With 10 juniors returning to play during their senior year, big things are expected from the men’s lacrosse team in 2008.

“The juniors are Paul [Schimoler's] first recruited class,” Agostinelli says. “We’ll be the biggest senior class and he will have coached everyone since becoming head coach.”

The women’s lacrosse team has an overall record of 7-7 and is 5-5 in the Northeast-10 Conference. They have six juniors expected to return next season.

Brynne Curran leads the women's team with 56 points. (Photo courtesy of Curran)

Two juniors in particular have helped to put numbers on the board and have been quiet leaders for their team this season. With a combined 80 goals to date, Brynne Curran and Amanda Soule have helped lead the Purple Knights to the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference (NE-10) playoffs.

“They’re both quiet, both very competitive players,” says head coach Carla Hesler. “They’re among the most competitive athletes I’ve ever coached. And they’re quiet about it. They don’t brag, they’re not overconfident, not cocky. They’re easy to work with and involve other people in games.”

The standouts

Agostinelli, a midfielder, has been the men's team's most balanced scorer with 26 goals and 16 assists. But even with his 42 points, Agostinelli emphasizes other accomplishments this season.

“I’ve learned to play better team defense and make smarter decisions while in the transition game,” he says.

As far as next season is concerned, Agostinelli says he expects great things, better leadership and better decision making.

Lazarus, an attacker, leads the team in goals with 46. His shooting percentage reveals that on average, he makes every other shot he takes.

“Personally, I feel that I’ve contributed to the team as much as I possibly could have,” Lazarus says. “I feel like I’ve done my job pretty well so far.”

Greg Lazarus has managed to rack up 46 goals this season, including six against Pace on Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of Lazarus)

Lazarus, like Agostinelli, tries to lead his team by the example he sets when he steps on to the field, but hopes to contribute more next year.

As a senior, Lazarus says, he will try to earn even more points for his team and hopes to enhance his leadership abilities as well, both on the field and off.

Boerma, also an attacker, leads the team in assists with 17. He has also notched 19 goals.

“I think my role's changed from the scoring position to more of a ball handling, leader position,” Boerma says.

Teammates agree that he has fulfilled this role well.

“He’s the quarterback of the offense,” says teammate Zach Ennis, a senior defenseman.

Boerma says he enjoys possessing the ball and hopes to work on improving his off-hand and shooting skills for senior year, as well as his fitness.

The quiet but confident leaders

Curran, an attacker, leads the women’s team with 56 points, 46 of which are goals. She notched 32 goals her sophomore season, more than double the number of goals she scored in her first-year. If she continues at this current rate, her numbers could be astronomical next season.

“More than half my goals come from assists,” Curran says. “I don’t just drive to the goal. They are the quick passes that I get and I just shoot it.”

Curran has caught the attention of her teammates as a leader on the field.

“On the field and in pre-game warm-up, I like to pass with the freshmen,” she says.

But being a leader doesn’t stop when the players leave the field.

“I feel like I’ve definitely made an effort off the field to make a connection to the team and the underclassmen,” Curran says. “In the beginning I would call them [first-years] to hang out. I feel like they definitely can come to me. At this point they do call me; it’s not just me calling them.”

As a senior, Curran says, she will expect the same things.

The women's team practices recently on Duffy Turf Field. Curran, Soule, and Co. will open the NE-10 tournament at Bentley College. (Photo, Kelley Ruch)

“I just go out there and play every game the same way,” Curran says. “Everyone wants to win, I just do my thing. As a team there’s just a mental ‘oneness.’ We connect on the field and that starts in practice and definitely goes into the game. I’m sure that will continue in the future.”

Amanda Soule, a midfielder, is just three goals short of her team-high total of 37 from last season. However, Soule says she does not believe she has done well enough this season when compared to past years.

“As a team, I think that it has been a good season,” Soule says. “We’ve had some tough games, but it’s still been fun. For me personally, it’s been alright. I don’t think I’ve done as well as I have in the past and it’s very frustrating with my toe.”

Within the first five minutes of their second preseason game in Florida, Soule’s toe slid up against a fence post, dislocating in the process.

“It has slowly but surely been healing, but it still hurts sometimes and is a nuisance,” she says. “I’d say 95 percent of the games and practices it’s been stepped on or jammed. I don’t know if there’s a big red target on my toe or if I just never noticed how much I got stepped on.”

As a leader, Soule says she tries to be encouraging and be someone the team knows they can go to.

“I lead by example and try to be someone that motivates them and prepares them to play,” Soule says. “We’re not just teammates; we’re all friends.”