Boys Lacrosse Presents Team Awards
The Winthrop High boys lacrosse team, which completed the most successful season in the program’s history just one year after emerging from club sport status in 2022, honored its top performers recently.
Head coach Brian Donnelly, whose squad won the South Division of the Northeastern Conference and was ranked 13th in Division 4, qualifying for the state tourney and then winning a tourney game, presented the following awards to his players and made appropriate comments for each:
Rookie of the Year: Rookie of the Year goes to the player whose first year was here at Winthrop. This year we asked a lot of the freshman class and the players responded. We had a ton of great first year players this year who added to the team in many ways. Whether it was through many face-off wins, amazing long stick defense, or key goals, there were a ton of new players who added to this year’s team. The particular player who is receiving this award got 23 assists on the year and 44 goals, including four assists and six goals in our playoff win against Tyngsborough. He won the game in overtime against a tough Beverly game that set the tone for us for the rest of the season. He has a quick stick and will no doubt continue to pick apart the NEC in the future. The 2023 rookie of the year is Ace Daignault.
Valhalla Award: The Valhalla award is an award chosen by the coaches to the player who epitomizes what we want a Viking Athlete to be. This is someone who works hard on and off the field to be a better competitor, a player who is unselfish and creates opportunities for those around him, and a player whose work ethic is unmatched. This year the Valhalla award goes to a player who made amazing strides in the off-season to become a better competitor, who creates opportunities for others with his hustle and drive, and who is probably our best short stick defender. This player had 22 assists and 23 saves on the season and was our go-to guy for various situations. He is one of the hardest working guys on the field which was a massive reason he was selected as an NEC All-Star. He has a great attitude and work ethic. This year’s Valhalla award goes to Michael “ C YA†Holgerson.
Defensive Player of the Year: This year our defense only allowed an average of 8.3 goals per game with two shutouts. Our defense played as an awesome unit and week after week we tasked this long pole defender with their best attackman or midfielder. This defender did everything that we asked of him and more, from coming off the win, to taking face-offs, to covering their best guy week after week. He was a ground ball machine and clearer in tough situations and ended the year with assists and two goals on the season. He was a leader on the field and pushed our guys every day in practice to become better dodgers, shooters, and players. He became our captain the second half of the year through his hard work and dedication to the team and is no doubt a reason that he was also selected as an NEC All star. He shut down Weston’s number 5 in the tourney game and played out of control defense as the season progressed against their strongest guys. This year’s Defensive Player of the Year is Welvis Acosta.
Offensive Player of the Year: Our Offensive Player of the Year was a guy who created opportunities both for others and for himself with his dodging game. Whenever we were in a tough situation he was one of the guys who looked for the ball and was always putting himself out in big situations. He had two game-winning goals, including an overtime goal to win in a tight Swampscott game where he recorded five goals and four assists. He was also pivotal in our win against Danvers, putting up five goals and three assists in the game. He was great not only on offense, but an amazing ground ball machine when he got into the mix, coming up with some huge ones that led to pivotal goals. He ended up with 33 assists and 43 goals and was voted NEC All Conference by the NEC coaches. Our Offensive Player of the Year is Alex Daigneault.
Most Valuable Player: Our MVP for 2023 is a guy who makes something happen whenever he is on the field. He does it all for us, from taking faceoffs, coming off the edge, being one of our better short stick defenders, or even grabbing a long pole on man-up and down. He is a great leader and one of the hardest-working players on the field. He had some huge goals throughout the season, including one against Swampscott with a minute left in the game to force an overtime. He was huge in a rain game when we were stalling out, getting six goals and five assists against Weymouth. He also had a huge performance against a very tough Marblehead team, getting the hat trick and having four assists. His toughness and tenacity are a huge reason that he was voted an NEC All Conference player by the NEC coaches and who usually drew the best defender. He is a ground ball machine and our go-to guy when we want a goal. He created opportunities for all the players around him through his dodging, explosive fast break He ended the season with 52 assists and 47 goals. Our Most Valuable Player in 2023 is Robert Rich.