KP U15 Select Boys' Lacrosse Take State Title

After two weeks of tournament play among 50 teams, there was nothing but exhilaration as the final horn sounded in the Massachusetts Bay Youth Lacrosse League Season (MBYLL) at the Rice Athletic Complex.

With a 9-4 win over Weston, the King Philip (KP) U15 Select boys’ team took home the MBYLL title June 14 to cap of a season that saw the Warriors go 19-1-1 overall and 12-0 in league play.

“It was awesome to see the kids run towards their goalie throwing their equipment up in the air as the horn sounded to end the game and to win the U15 State Championship,” head coach Jack Piatell said. “Great satisfaction for the players' hard work and dedication to the game of lacrosse and to their teammates. This was a very special group of young athletes, competitive, unselfish, and passionate about the game."

The team, made up of seventh and eight graders from the King Philip School District, was absolutely dominant during the season with tenacious defense and smart play. In addition, the now state champions were able to win not with great individual performances but with excellent team play.

“Our strength was we believed in ourselves as a team. No one player was better than the team,” Paitell said. “We played solid defense all year but played our best defense in the playoffs. Our offense was strong from start to finish but by the end of the year and into the playoffs we had several players on offense contributing. Our strongest assets, skilled players with high lacrosse IQ.”

State all-stars midfielder and team points leader John Piatelli, defenseman Wes Narewski, and goalie Mike Toomey were just some of the contributors to the team. In addition to the all-stars, the Warriors featured a talented lineup that helped turned the squad into a well-rounded lineup.

“We had a number of players who played key roles to our success,” Piatell said. “Jake Tomsik and Christian Thomas were a great one two punch on attack, very talented and natural goal scorers. Harry Fallon and Sam Agricola, were our man up specialist. Craig Kelleher, Steve Eaton and John Deluca played outstanding defense at the midfield position all year long. Liam Clifford and Anthony Truini came up with key ground balls and goals in the playoffs to secure a few of our wins.”

While the most of the team will not be playing varsity level lacrosse in high school for a couple of more years, the win is evidence of lacrosse’s growth in popularity and King Philip’s potential to have a successful lacrosse program.