Raptors Lacrosse “Learning on the Fly”

RHAM senior captain Brady Lalonde control the ball as Glastonbury’s Luke Shannon plays defense last Monday night at RHAM High School.   

Boys lacrosse at RHAM High School features a young roster that is aiming for a strong finish this spring.

The Raptors ran into a buzz saw from Glastonbury on Monday night, losing to 14-3 at RHAM High School.

Early on, the Raptors went toe-to-toe with the visiting Guardians, battling to a draw for the first eights minute.     

After falling behind 1-0, junior Josh Weers tied it up with a goal at the 7:52 mark of the first quarter. 

Glastonbury senior Parker Wallace countered with the first of his game-high four goals to regain the lead for the Guardians before RHAM senior Brady Lalonde again knotted the game with 3:41 to play in the opening frame. 

Senior goalie Zach Bogdan went the entire way between the pipes for the Raptors, making several saves, yet the Guardians broke the tie by reeling off the next five goals to take a lead they would not relinquish. 

“I thought we played a solid 48 minutes against a tough opponent,” RHAM head coach Michael Humphreys said following the team’s sixth loss this spring. “Our goal is to get better every day and I think this is a good test for the rest of the season.”

Weers added his second goal midway through the second quarter, cutting the deficit to 7-3, but the Raptors would not score again over the final 31 minutes of game action. 

Despite the 11-point defeat, the arrow is pointing up for RHAM under Humphreys. 

Humphreys is in his second season as the team’s head coach after serving as an assistant coach for the previous three seasons.

Following his initial season at head coach last spring, the team lost an influential senior class featuring four all-conference players in Boden Landers, Gino Deliseo, Nick Pace, and Tim Smith.

The team’s lone returning all-conference player is Jacob Tresser, a junior who is captaining the team this year with Weers and Lalonde.

“We are a very young team, so there’s a learning curve, but I think they’ve picked it up very quick over the last nine games,” stated Humphreys. “It’s been up and down with injuries and everything else, but our boys have really stepped up to the challenge and are learning on the fly.”

Humphreys’ Raptors started the season by winning three of five games, earning quality victories over E.O. Smith (10-7), Rocky Hill (18-9), and Woodstock Academy (7-5). 

The game with Glastonbury marked the team’s fourth straight loss, yet Humphreys is hoping to see the team find a groove as they enter the final month of the season.

“Our offensive needs to hold the ball a little better and with a young team that is learning how to win, that will help win down the stretch,” he stated.  

​The Raptors next travel to Norwich Free Academy this Saturday (May 6) for an out-of-conference bout at noon, before returning to RHAM for an important conference tilt with Tolland on Monday, May 8 at 4:40 p.m.