'They're competitors': Void of its starting defense, Marshfield boys lacrosse on a roll
MARSHFIELD – The slash Will Rand took to his leg resulted in the senior limping to his team's timeout huddle and the stick laying defeated on the turf.
Such is life on the injured list.
However, Rand, a midfielder, is not the lone Marshfield High boys lacrosse player to feel the brunt of it. The entirety of the Rams' defense has, too.
"We have three seniors who have missed the whole year," head coach Kevin Orcutt said. "Our three starters."
Scott MacKinnon (concussion), Ryland McGlame (torn ACL) and Bennett Ewell (torn ACL) all have been down for the count since the first day of the season. The trio plans to continue their respective careers at Mass. Maritime next spring, but the Rams (12-3) soon will dive into the deep waters of tournament contention without them.
It's a scenario unlike any Orcutt has encountered in his five years coaching at Marshfield.
“It’s hard," the coach said. "This is getting me older and grayer.”
MacKinnon suffered the concussion on the first day of practice and hasn't returned to action. McGlame, also a forward on the hockey team, tore his ACL seven games through the campaign this winter. Orcutt called them some of the best defenders in the Patriot League.
“They were our main guys," senior captain Nic Cupples said of the missing trio.
So, in stepped junior Davin True, senior Jaden Silva and sophomore Kyle Fickeisen to safeguard senior goalie Jake Dernier, who admitted the adjustment period initially put pressure on him but says the new unit has gotten the hang of things.
“It’s rough, but I have full trust in the boys, who have stepped up since Day 1," Dernier said. "They’ve been working really hard.”
Marshfield, ranked No. 3 in the MIAA's Division 2 power rankings, has held 10 of its opponents to five goals or fewer. The latest was Scituate on Tuesday (a 7-5 Rams win), but perhaps the most notable was Duxbury in the season-opener (a 6-5 win). It was believed to be Marshfield's first-ever win over the Dragons, the reigning Division 2 runners-up and current holder of the power rankings' top spot.
That one put a jolt into this new brigade's stride.
“The defense has come a long way," Orcutt said. “They’re competitors."
Defensive-minded midfielders Tommy Carroll and Cam McGettrick have pitched in with the newcomers. If those names sound familiar, it's because both are All-Scholastic hockey picks (Carroll was the Patriot League Keenan Division MVP with 10 goals and 16 assists; McGettrick had 11 goals and 23 assists).
Meanwhile, True, who Orcutt said "has done a great job keeping us together," was the 1,100-yard workhorse running back in the football team's journey to the Division 2 Super Bowl.
And who was his backfield mate in the fall? You guessed correctly – Cupples.
“Multi-sport (athletes) are huge for us," Orcutt said.
“The toughness comes from football, too. I get blown up in football all the time," said Cupples, a midfielder. "I’m kinda used to it.”
When asked about rounding into tournament shape, Orcutt said he's still waiting to secure one of those "full four-quarter performances" like last year's outings against Medfield (a 6-2 win) and Xaverian (13-10 loss in the Sweet Sixteen). The Rams have three regular season games left (at Plymouth North, at Nauset, vs. Silver Lake) before postseason seeding.
On Tuesday against Scituate, the No. 3 team in Division 3, the Sailors (11-5) tallied the first two goals before Marshfield rattled off six straight to assert control in the second and early portion of the third quarter. Sophomore Jon Sullivan scored three goals; the final was the decider with 4:06 to play.
“Today is one of the first times we actually got punched in the mouth and came back and battled," Orcutt said.
“We know the level we can play to," Cupples said. "We’ve just got to get to that level and get going for playoffs.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Marshfield boys lacrosse winning despite missing defensive starters
