LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield boys lacrosse team is looking for a bit of a different look this season. 

“The DNA of this year’s team will be a continuation of what we had last year, but will shift from more of a defensive team to an offensive team with a lot of speed,” fourth-year head coach Pat Lamusta said. “We lost some scoring and some very solid defensive players so there is still a lot to find out about how the team will gel, but we have a nice balance of returners coming back as three-year starters. It will be interesting to see how players step up on D and still be able to generate scoring and if they can take the offense to the next level.”

The Pioneers lost five seniors from last year’s team, players who made significant contributions in all facets of the game, from faceoffs to ground balls, takeaways, and scoring.

The good news is that many of the returning players did the same.

The Pioneers will be led by captains AJ Chiardonna, a long stick/middie; midfielder Kelan Cardinal, Owen White, a defensive middie, and Jake Connell, a defenseman. White led the team in ground balls in 2023 with 70, while Cardinal led the team in scoring with 88 points. Chiaradonna was second on the team in takeaways (32) and Connell also was impactful in the backfield with 34 ground balls.

“AJ is just a tough kid who was born with a lacrosse stick in his hand. He is extremely committed and Kelan comes from a lacrosse family,” Lamusta said. These are pure lacrosse kids who really care about the game. 

“Owen and Jake are defensive minded and as hockey players, they bring that multi-sport athlete piece to the table but, for all four of them, lacrosse is their sport.” 

Among the other players Lamusta expects to step up are senior defensemen Alex Bladini and Niccolo Antidormi, senior attack Evan Rocha, senior middie Dhimitri Dono,  junior defenseman Aidan Norton, junior attack Will Norton, junior attack Owen Considine, junior midfielder Mike Murphy and junior goalie Ben Pimentel.

Considine was second in scoring last year (60 points), while Murphy (.469), Will Norton (.437), and Considine (.385) led the team in shot percentage. Aidan Norton was third in ground balls (65). Pimentel was strong in net with a 7.2 goals against average.

“We also have some sophomores and freshmen looking to plug some holes,” Lamusta said.

Lamusta has a rock-solid group of former players as assistants in Alex Soden, Max Robert, and Evan Hammersley (who wrapped up his playing career by winning back-to-back national Division 3 championships at Salisbury in 2011-2012). Former Bishop Fenwick standout Jake Brennan is the goalie coach.

The Pioneers open the season with a scrimmage at home against Danvers on March 27. Their first four games are on the road, starting April 1 at Swampscott followed by the Cape Ann League opener on April 3 at Hamilton-Wenham.

Lamusta said that the CAL is chock full of talent again this year with Ipswich and Pentucket topping the charts.

“There are so many tough teams in the CAL and it seems that everyone is putting out good teams and there are no slouches,” he said. “Now, with Essex Tech in the league, the CAL is that much more competitive. I think there will be a lot of fun games this season as every CAL game feels like a rivalry.”

Last year’s team finished the regular season 10-8 and was the No. 7 seed in the Division 4 tournament. The Pioneers defeated league rivals Hamilton-Wenham (17-2) and Manchester-Essex (10-6) to punch their ticket into the round of 16 where they were eliminated by No. 2 Sandwich, which went on to lose in the championship game to top-seeded Cohasset.

This year’s team is clear about its goals for 2024.

“We want to push deeper into the tournament and also win the league, which I don’t think we’ve done since 2008 or 2009,” Lamusta said.