Baldwin boys lacrosse building experience

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, April 7, 2018 | 1:27 AM

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The Baldwin boys lacrosse program is building from the ground floor up.

Make that from the ice level to the stadium turf.

“We have been really trying to concentrate on fundamentals and lacrosse IQ,” Baldwin coach Shawn Leydig said. “A lot of our players are fairly new and have crossed over from ice hockey. It's a good pipeline we hope continues.”

The Highlanders have almost 40 athletes in the program this season, including several returning starters.

“We're still a very young team,” Leydig said. “Not having a JV team the last two seasons set us back quite a bit in development. This year, we do have a JV team, and that's very important moving forward.

“While we have strength on defense and in goal, we are very young at midfield and attack. We're trying to bridge the experience gap and compete in a very tough division with powerhouses like Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair.”

Returning starters include senior goaltender Kyle Grimm, senior defender Doug Gorski and sophomore midfielder Zach Pettit, who will serve as the Highlanders' co-captains.

“We have an extremely young team,” Grimm said. “This is our second year playing at the highest division of lacrosse that Pennsylvania has to offer, so we're still adjusting to some new competition. Because of that, measuring the season in wins and losses doesn't do the team justice.

“However, that said, I do expect to be able to compete with our schedule. Our biggest strength is our veteran defense, and that will be the key to our success.”

Grimm is a two-year letterman with the Highlanders. He has manned the goalie position in seven of the eight years he has competed in the sport of lacrosse.

“What I really enjoy about the position is that I can control the flow of the game with saves and clearing the ball,” Grimm said. “I'm really excited for this season, and I have very high expectations for myself and my team going forward.”

Other notable returning starters consist of seniors Nino Roberto (defense) and Cade Gnazzo (attack), as well as sophomores Zack Pender (midfield) and Mike Zemaitis (attack).

Several others are hoping to make an impact, including midfielders Jimmy Wodarek, Tony Mendez and Austin Dickey, and defenders Liam Varney, Dylan DeSimone and Sam Barbano. All are seniors but Dickey, the lone junior on this year's team.

Among the younger players in the program, the sophomore class is represented by Pender and Zemaitis; along with midfielders Ryan Musto, Leo Beerman, Vinny Episcopo, John Sabo, Eli Achtzehn, Jarod McLaughlin, Jason Kavulic, Tanner Cindrich and Ethan Coulehan; defenders A.J. Callery and Christian Mulholland; and goalkeeper Josh Hagan.

Top freshman prospects include attackers Shawn Ryan and Jaeden Mohring; midfielders Brandon O'Connor, Tommy Wible, Zach Borman, Bryce Jurczyk, Cam Plinta and Lake Ott; defenders Jack Gallagher and Mike Cadwallader; and goalkeeper Sean Bartek.

Leydig is assisted by Jack Halley and Anthony Barbano.

“We have a great bunch of kids on the roster with a willingness to learn,” Leydig said. “We're very excited as a coaching staff to see what the future holds.”

Pender, Episcopo and Kavulic were forwards on the Baldwin hockey team in 2017-18; DeSimone and Cindrich were goaltenders.

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Baldwin