Boys Lacrosse Begins State Title Defense On Saturday
David Creed •
The Nantucket boys lacrosse team made history last June when they beat the Sandwich Blue Knights in the Div. 4 state championship at Barnstable High School on June 15th 7-6, and this weekend the Whalers will begin their title defense with plenty of new faces littered throughout the lineup.
"There's a lot of strong pieces," head coach Sam Aloisi said. "There's not a lot of varsity experience and there's zero experience playing together. But it's really happening quickly. They're getting to know each other in practice. It's going to take a few weeks, but there's a lot of talent there. They're all big, strong kids. There are a lot of juniors and sophomores.”
The Whalers will be led by junior Jeremy Jenkinson in net and junior Arann Hanlon on offense. In the faceoff circle, they will have senior David Cirillo returning.
“So we get our offensive leader back in Arann Hanlon and then we get our defensive leader back in Jeremy,” Aloisi said. “Jeremy is one of the best goalies in the state honestly. David will do really well in the faceoffs again. We just need to fill the lineup in.”
Hanlon emerged as one of Nantucket’s elite playmakers last year and scored two goals in the state final matchup. Aloisi said his presence on and off the field will be very important with so many players having graduated last June.
"There is no question he is our offensive leader, he's a team captain.," Aloisi said. "He's an overall leader. Arann could do anything offensively or defensively. The problem is he's human, and he can’t play the whole game.”
On defense, the Whalers will have a lot of new faces anchoring that unit but junior defensive midfielder Canton Jenkinson is returning after playing a key role in last year’s state title. They will also return junior attacker Jake Grant, who Aloisi has high hopes for.
The Whalers are dealing with some injuries including senior captain Owen Sullivan, who will not play this season after tearing his ACL during football season. Junior attacker Nolen Mosscrop, who also scored two goals in the state title game, is dealing with an injury to begin the season.
But some players who were not on the team last year are expected to make contributions in their first year with the program. Senior attackers Miles Beaudette and Jake Johnson will play key roles for the Whaler offense while junior Soren Edwardes will see plenty of action as a long stick midfielder to assist Nantucket’s defense.
The Whalers will also look to Ben and Nick Yates, junior defenders who have impressed early on in preseason. Junior James Dutra should also see action on defense.
“The defense, if we don’t have Canton back there, is basically going to be all new,” Aloisi said. “But it is coming along. Ben and Nick Yates have looked very good.”
But with Jenkinson between the pipes, Aloisi feels confident it will take some pressure off of his young defense.
"There's no question he's going to be the backbone of that defense," Aloisi said of Jenkinson. "I mean last year he played phenomenal. He also had a really good group in front of them. But again, these guys have got the potential and they're learning. It's just that they don't have any experience, which for the first half of the season that's going to be the big thing is getting a few wins under their belt and a little confidence.”
Nantucket begins their season on Saturday, March 29th on the road against the Whitman-Hanson Panthers at 11 a.m. They will then have one week off before hosting Martha’s Vineyard on Saturday, April 5th at 11 a.m. You can view the boys lacrosse schedule here.