Oliver Ames seniors Ben Reardon, Catie Wilson 'leaving a legacy' as breakout lacrosse stars

EASTON — A typical practice for the Oliver Ames High boys lacrosse team starts with players spanned along a large brick wall outside the gymnasium, warming up with stick drills.

When Ben Reardon's freshman season was canceled due to COVID-19, these are the solo drills he did over and over. He sent footage to head coach Ben Devlin every morning.

"I was just trying to make varsity," Reardon said. "I was just getting the fundamentals down that I think really helped strengthen the future seasons I’ve played in.”

Now in the twilight of his senior season, Reardon has stamped his career as the program's all-time leading goal-scorer. He scored a pair in a recent loss to Mansfield to total 114 for his career, eclipsing a record previously held by Eric LeBlanc from 2018.

“When I was a freshman, I had no aspirations of any records," Reardon said with a chuckle.

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Catie Wilson, the senior star on the girls team, followed a similar trajectory as she got her 100th goal in a win over North Attleboro on April 27. One year ago, she entered her junior season with 11 in total.

“It’s a huge milestone for these kids to get that 100th goal and, to see Catie do it on a shorter career, it’s awesome," said Erik Johnson, a longtime assistant on the girls team's staff.

FROM TENTATIVE TO TAKEOVER

Reardon did, in fact, make the varsity team as a rising sophomore and he went on to score 13 goals that season.

The ensuing spring, he detonated for 55 goals in a breakout junior campaign. He now has 52 through 14 games this year (with four regular season games to go).

Reardon “was a little tentative," early in his career, Devlin said, "which you would expect out of a younger sophomore playing his first high school games. He had a lot of chances early and would always make the right play, just wouldn’t finish, necessarily. You could see it: all he needed was some confidence to start finishing those plays."

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“I could’ve had three times as many points, probably,” Reardon said with a grin. “But it was my first time playing in high school, with this competition, and, every time I got in front of the net, I seemingly just choked. I just shot it right at the goalie and, I’m not really sure, I panicked.”

Reardon's confidence began to grow within the final three or four games of his sophomore season, he recalled, as he maintained a streak of burying multiple goals each time out. He finished his sophomore year with a four-goal output in a loss to Canton.

“It rolled right into his junior year," Devlin said. And, in the season-opener, Reardon scored four goals in a road loss to Attleboro.

Now a senior, Reardon's four-goal outings are routine as he takes over as the top scoring option following last year's graduation of Wyatt Fritchman, an All-Scholastic midfielder who tallied 73 points (50 goals, 23 assists) as the Team MVP his senior year. Reardon had a 10-point day (seven goals, three assists) against Ashland on April 18, as OA is now 8-6 and in the MIAA's Div. 2 playoff picture at No. 29 in the latest power rankings.

“Transition into my junior year, and now, I’ve become a more collective player," said Reardon, who's bound for the University of Michigan in the fall, where he will major in economics. "I think about things a lot clearer and the muscle memory, and the practice I’ve had over the last three years have really transitioned me from a scared, new player into the veteran I’ve become."

“He’s far and away our leading goal scorer, so teams will focus on taking him away. We’ve lucked out and had a couple guys step up and take a little bit of pressure off of him, and he’s always looking to make the right play," Devlin said. "He’s not always looking to score goals. If the pass is supposed to be made, he’ll make the pass.”

WILSON'S BIG JUMP

Wilson's ascension was just as big.

She wrapped her sophomore season at 11, and exploded for 52 goals in an All-Scholastic junior season as Oliver Ames went 11-8 and won four of its final five games. Now, as a senior, she's up to 55 and counting with five regular season games still ahead.

“She’s been getting stronger as each season progressed," Johnson said. "She’s such a resilient person and to watch her grow from where she started to where she is now, she’s a leader on our team. The kids look up to her. It’s been awesome to watch.”

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Wilson played defense on her club team, Mass Elite, until she switched to attack two years ago. The transition came into effect in a big come the high school season, too.

“It was a great opportunity to take advantage of (the position change). We had a great group of seniors my sophomore year I was able to learn from. Then my junior year, my confidence really started to grow. I really started to surprise myself, and that allowed me to be more creative," Wilson said. "This year, I had the opportunity to be more of a leader and start focusing on my communication on the field, and still learn from other people, but also help them along and teach them things as I go.”

Wilson stamped an exclamation point on the team's the Senior Night celebration this past week with a seven-goal outburst as the Tigers defeated Middleboro, 15-10, and improved to 7-6 on the season as the No. 29 team in the Div. 2 power rankings.

She had eight goals in prior meeting with Middleboro on May 9, and seven against North Attleboro on April 27 and seven again in a win over Nipmuc.

“It honestly feels very rewarding to see the hard work I put in come into play," Wilson said.

From scoring 11 in an entire calendar year, she nearly matches it in just one game nowadays.

“I’m just in the zone in the game, so I don’t realize that until after," Wilson said with a smile. "But it feels good.”

DOING IT AT THE SAME PACE

Neither Reardon or Wilson had a freshman season. Both started slowly as up-and-coming sophomores. Then, they exploded.

“It’s really motivational to other people in the program breaking through and going alongside you," Wilson said. "It motivates you to get better when you create that program culture that everyone is trying to do their best."

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“His freshman year, you could see he was a talented kid," Devlin said of Reardon. "I didn’t really expect him to be as good as he’s been, but it’s a tip of the cap to him because he’s worked hard to do it. He’s made himself the player he is.

"Then," added Devlin, "he grew and matured physically and mentally, and became a real good leader on our team.”

Reardon had a feeling he was gaining on the all-time record but didn't realize he was going to get it when he did, as a wrong tally in the scorebook misled the team on the clinching night.

But in the third quarter of a game against Mansfield on May 8, it was confirmed. Reardon did it, as part of a two-goal performance in a 13-5 loss the Tigers suffered.

Ever pictured that moment before?

“From the perspective of a sophomore, no, I don’t think so," Reardon said. "I knew I was a better player than I let on to be, but some of the players that have come through OA have been so great that I really wouldn’t have expected this.

"It was pretty euphoric to say I’m leaving a legacy here, whether that’s just in a record or as a teammate or captain," Reardon said. "It’s great to have something that will be remembered at OA.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Goals aplenty: Two Oliver Ames lacrosse stars have come a long way