Monomoy Boys Lacrosse ‘Improving Every Day’ As Playoff Berth Nears

HARWICH – Since game one of the season, the Monomoy boys lacrosse team’s mantra has simply been to get better every day.

That philosophy found its way to results on the field with the regular season wrapping up this week. In early April, for instance, the Sharks fell 18-1 at Bourne. Last Friday, Monomoy scored six times as many goals in a 22-6 loss to Bourne in the season rematch. 

The youthful squad (4-12) will take that little victory. From the year’s opening faceoff in March, the team’s ideal has centered on focusing toward a standard rather than a score. That didn’t change Friday.

“Today's a perfect example,” head coach Chris Harlow said. “The last time that we had these guys, it seemed like it was over a lot earlier, and there were times where we were coming back and coming back into it, and there's a little bit more hope in there. And that's our standard of just improving every day, and a lot of guys buy into it.”

The jump in that second bout with the Canalmen came even as the Sharks were down several players and shifting around the lineup as a consequence. Sophomore Jayden Eldredge played valiantly between the pipes in his goaltending debut. Other players moved from offense to defense to backfill the absences.

“Just the fact that our offense was able to move and get a couple of goals, that's a huge aspect that we're proud of,” Harlow said. “Definitely I think our defense was hurting a lot today with the amount of guys we're missing and having to pull a couple guys off of our offense to fill some spots there, but our biggest thing is just continuing to get better every day, in whatever aspect it is, and try to take away victories like that.”

A handful of wins have the Sharks — with 17 total eighth graders and freshman — on the precipice of the state tournament as the 31st-ranked team in Division 4. In addition to three wins against Sturgis East, Monomoy in mid-April bested Cape Cod Academy, who they’ll play again Tuesday after The Chronicle’s deadline.

The Cape Cod Academy win in particular was a boost and a momentum-builder for Monomoy. Coming off their first win of the year against Sturgis East, the Sharks and Seahawks approached the end of overtime locked up in a 2-2 trial of goaltending. Junior Nick Garneau found the game-winner with less than a second remaining in the extra period. Junior Harry Beaumont made 16 saves.

Beaumont also recorded 20 saves — of which multiple were worthy of the highlight reel — in an 18-4 loss to Dennis-Yarmouth on May 11 as the Dolphins fired off second- and third-chance shots.

“He was making diving stick saves and really sparked our momentum in that game to give them a fight, so he has the potential to be an excellent goaltender,” Harlow said. “Some days he shows up and he makes saves that are out of this world, and so if we can find a way to have those ‘SportsCenter’ top 10 saves every single day, then that was a big part of our early success — was him being able to do that consistently.”

Scoring for the Sharks has been spread throughout the roster. At least nine players have found the back of the net over the course of year, including leading scorers sophomore Izaiah Freeman, junior Brodie LaValley, freshman Ryder Long and eighth grader Shea Gvazdauskas.

When the season began, the Sharks kept their sets — their formations — basic, on account of their youth. Now, they run multiple sets on offense and defense. They have transition offense with the clear and transition defense with the ride. The clear, ride and multiple sets have made Monomoy more unpredictable and generated momentum to become a better team.

“Now that we're starting to get the sport under our belt, I think that we have the ability to have some success, whether it's for the remainder of the season or whether it's next year,” Harlow said.