Over the last eight years, the West Springfield boys varsity lacrosse team has had the Atoms’ number in the regular season. The Atoms have been 0-8 against the Spartans in regular season match-ups since 2003, but on March 25, the Atoms used a strong performance from senior Nick Lalande and scoring from across the roster to overcome the “curse” and beat the Spartans, 12-9.

“It’s nice to know that our kids can overcome any expectations for a regular season game because [West Springfield has] certainly had our number,” Head Coach Bill Maglisceau said.

The Atoms’ offense got off to a quick start with a goal from junior Alec Villafana, but cooled off and only managed two more goals – both from Lalande – in the first half. The defense for the Atoms was strong, however, and the two teams entered halftime knotted up at three apiece.

“[At halftime] I told the kids to quit forcing it to the crease and be more patient,” Maglisceau said. “[In the second half,] we waited for cutters and moved the ball around to the help side and got better looks.”

The patience paid immediate dividends as the Atoms jumped out to a 5-3 lead behind goals from senior Nathan Miller and junior Ryan Miller, but the Spartans fought back and cut it to 6-6 at the end of three quarters. Early in the fourth, West Springfield took a one-goal lead, but sophomore Zack Lalande was able to tie it back up at seven with 10:50 remaining in the game.

From that point on, the Atoms would never fall behind again. Nick Lalande proceeded to win five straight face-offs and quick goals from senior Stephen Craig and Ryan Miller established a 9-7 lead. After a West Springfield goal, Craig scored another and quelled any hopes of a Spartan comeback. Villafana and Nick Lalande added the final two tallies of the night en route to the 3-goal victory.

“I was just able to get open and [my teammates] just kept feeding me the ball, so I had a bunch of open looks,” Nick Lalande, who finished with five goals and a team record 16 ground balls, said.
Despite the win, there is still room for improvement. The team played man-down for a total of six and a half minutes and was called for penalties on several big hits.

“I’ve never really gotten on kids for too many penalties,” Maglisceau said. “I don’t want kids to ever not be aggressive because they’re afraid of getting a penalty, so I don’t really get on them a whole lot. Ideally, [the] man-down [team] gets excited and look forward to it. We have the athletes on our team to make it one of our strengths.”

With the win, the Atoms improve to 3-0 on the season and are now ranked third in the Northern Region according to laxpower.com. A key to the success this year has been the revamped defense. Over the past two years, the Atoms have had a high-powered offense, but lacked the defense necessary to go deep into the postseason. This year, that has changed.

After switching to defense from midfield last year, senior Peter Hagen has become one of the best defenders in the Northern Region and leads the strong defensive unit for the Atoms. Seniors Bob Stevens and Andy Craig switched to defense this year from goalie and midfield, respectively, to further advance the talent along the defensive line. Sophomore Joe Bermingham has stepped in at goalie and done a very nice job taking over for the reliable Stevens.

“We lost some defense last year, so we got some new guys in and we’re starting to gel as a unit,” Stevens, one of the team’s three captains, said. “We want to keep getting better each game”

With a new-look on the defensive side of the ball and a powerhouse offense capable of scoring with the best teams in the region, the Atoms look to have a very successful season and return to the state playoffs for the first time since 2008.