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06/20/2021 12:00 AMThe Branford-East Haven (Bfd-EH) co-op boys’ lacrosse team entered the 2021 season with 12 seniors on its roster, but only a few of them had varsity experience. Despite that obstacle and difficult start to the season, Head Coach Jim May’s squad relied on the leadership of its seniors to finish the year strong and qualify for the Class L State Tournament.
The Hornets started off their campaign with three-straight losses before earning their first win against West Haven. Bfd-EH lost three in a row again, then claimed a victory over Jonathan Law. Following a loss to North Branford, the Hornets won four of their next six games to make states, clinching their bid with a 13-0 win against Wilbur Cross in their regular-season finale.
Coach May said that, in order to turn its season around, Bfd-EH stopped worrying about its lack of varsity experience and started focusing more on buying into the system.
“At all times we had 8 out of 10 guys who had no varsity experience on the field. They just decided that, maybe even if we aren’t lacrosse players, we’re athletes. If we give 110 percent, good things will happen,” said May. “We talked about being greedy. Have fun, shoot as much as you want, get after it, and have a good time. They bought into it and helped us earn four more wins and make states.”
The Hornets started to change their mindset gradually throughout the season. Coach May said that his athletes didn’t expect anything, but wanted everything, and put in the necessary work to achieve their goals.
After going 6-9 in the regular season, Bfd-EH entered the Class L State Tournament as the No. 23 seed and took on No. 10 Newington for a road game in the qualifying round. The Hornets took a 7-6 loss, but Coach May was impressed with how Bfd-EH performed versus a Nor’Easters’ team that came into the game with a record of 11-4. May said that the Hornets never gave up and left it all on the field against Newington—a fitting finish for a team that fought its hardest throughout the entire season.
“Did we have any business being in that game and only losing by a goal? Probably not. We were the last seed,” Coach May said. “But I don’t care if we’re playing Newington, Fairfield Prep, or Darien. It’s Class L. They’re 14- to 18-year old kids just like you are. Just go out there, be greedy, have fun, and be determined to be better each possession. They did that, and we almost snuck up on a very good Newington team.”
The Hornets’ senior class included captains Nick Chieffo, Luke Volpe, Markus Indeck, and Connor Erickson, along with Dylan Pyle, Matt Cordero, Justin Osler, Peyton Tracy, Brennan Hynes, Nick Volpe, Jared Yakimoff, and Matt Maebry. Chieffo and Luke Volpe were the only two seniors with any varsity experience coming into the season. In the end, Coach May feels that every senior on this year’s team is leaving behind a legacy with the Branford boys’ lacrosse program.
“These seniors were told time and time again to leave a legacy,” said May. “That legacy was to make sure that the guys that graduated before them, the guys that played with them, and the guys coming up understand that it doesn’t matter what the odds are against you. Tighten up the chin strap and get it done. It was a great mentality from those seniors.”
Junior goalie Aidan Strebel and fellow junior Cam Paleski were the two other players on the team who had seen varsity time prior to this year. Paleski wound up earning All-SCC Second Team honors for his performance on the season. Next year, Paleski and Strebel will serve as the Hornets’ captains with Kevin Lee and Dylan Dupre, who were also juniors this season.
Coach May said that his rising seniors have already started working towards next year’s goals and have an excellent understanding of what it takes to succeed after persevering through this year’s journey.
“You will get better with hard work. Now is the time to start working for next year. That’s what they have been doing,” May said. “The new captains and I said we wanted to get 500 reps off the wall every day. They realized if we pass and caught a little better, we wouldn’t need to win four of our last six. If you read a book, you learn better vocabulary. If you practice and put in the hard work, you become a more skilled athlete. They’ve bought in.”
Coach May said that his seniors always made sure everyone was giving a maximum effort at each practice and game. Moving forward, May is looking for his underclassmen to use what they learned from the seniors to guide the team to greater heights in future campaigns.
May has been coaching lacrosse for the past 26 years and served as the Hornets’ head coach since 2010. When he looks back at this year’s team, Coach May said that he will remember how his athletes competed with heart every time they took the field, no matter if it was their first time playing varsity lacrosse or their first time playing lacrosse at all.
“This team is special for the grit and leadership of guys who had no lacrosse experience,” said May said. “They were just athletes who decided, it’s OK if I’m not a lacrosse guy. They wanted to be leaders on the field and in the classroom. All of them contributed to it. It was a big deal.”
The other athletes on the Bfd-EH boys’ lacrosse team were juniors Daniel Vaicunas and Ryan Sheldon; sophomores Sean Bosworth, Matt McNulty, Jack Fitzpatrick, and Alexander Milne; and freshmen Declan Kearney, Jeter DeCusati, Brennan Scarpace, Parsa Malahiazar, Gavin Groves, Ryan Laska, and Peyton Rome. Sheldon and Rome are the two East Haven students on the squad. Coach May’s assistant coach was Andres Wullaert.