“17 players, 17 wins:″ How Weston boys’ lacrosse learned to stick together despite thin numbers

When the Weston boys’ lacrosse team gets off the bench, opposing teams tend to look around for confirmation.

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“They only have 15 guys in uniform,” they might wonder. “This is the team that has been beating up on the Division 1 programs of the Dual County League?”

Indeed. With only three or four field players available to sub into a given game, the Wildcats managed to go 15-1 (a program-best mark) and win a seventh straight DCL Foley title.

Weston (17-1) will play at second-seeded Norwell (17-3) on Saturday at 5 p.m. for a chance to go to the Division 3 semifinals. Both programs shifted up from D4 last season after Norwell won the state title.

Ideally, a strong lacrosse program will use six offensive midfielders, four defensive midfielders, five or six poles, and potentially rotate in players on attack to keep bodies fresh. Weston has one backup for each position group, so the Wildcats have to be strategic to avoid fatigue.

“Lacrosse is a fast game and you want to push it and take advantage when you have numbers, but sometimes we could gas ourselves,” said Weston coach Jim Wilcon, who won his 200th game May 19 at Hopkinton. “Even if we score, the next faceoff, our kids could be gassed on the faceoff, and we could give up a goal, and then another. So we have to adjust our tempo at times.”

Entering the season with six seniors, Weston lost returning assist leader Teddy Dreyer to an ACL tear in the season opener. A few weeks later, defensive middie Sam Darling’s season ended due to a stress fracture. Fourth attackman Hayes Hanser has missed the past three games with a wrist injury, and could be available Saturday, but the Wildcats have no depth beyond that.

If long-stick middie Mac Salyer goes down, one of Weston’s starting poles may shift up, and senior Owain Hawkes would jump onto the field. If another pole goes down, senior defensive middie Ben Gardner might have to grab a long stick, and senior Alex Palmer might have to play every minute, in addition to taking faceoffs.

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“Sometimes we have contingency plans before the game, but a lot of times we have to figure it out on the fly,” Wilcon said, referencing a tense stretch in Weston’s 16-4 second-round win over Oakmont in which starting pole Sebastian Friel had to leave briefly to get his ankle taped.

With 24 kids in the program, including seven who aren’t deemed varsity-ready, the Wildcats have been unable to practice full-field scenarios most of the year.

Weston didn’t practice Friday due to school graduation, so the underdogs will be arriving in Norwell without a full day of preparation.

Wilcon, who coached the program from 2009-2012 and again since 2018, said his players have been unselfish most years, but this group has a special bond due to the long odds stacked against them.

“The strength of our team is the fact that we have a small roster and we have to depend on each other and stick together,” Wilcon said.

“All our guys are contributing every game and nobody cares who gets the credit. Every game, it’s a different person.”

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