The Gloucester High boys lacrosse team may have fell just short of qualifying for the Division 3 state playoffs, but it certainly wasn’t for a lack of production from two upperclassmen standouts.
Starting goalie Jaeden Chipperini, a senior, and standout attack Sam Sanfilippo, a junior, each turned in tremendous seasons for head coach Geoff Kennedy. Now, they have some hardware to take home after they were each named Northeastern Conference Lynch Division all-stars.
A gifted, multi-year starter between the posts, Chipperini finished among the area’s best netminders in total saves (146) and save percentage (.527). He led Gloucester to six wins and had multiple double-digit stop efforts.
Sanfilippo, meanwhile, established himself as one of the conference’s top scoring talents, particularly in the facilitating department. He dished out 36 assists this spring — only three players in the North Shore and Cape Ann area had more than that, and not by much — to go with 24 goals as well. Those 60 total points ranked 12th in the entire area.
Winthrop’s Seth Sacco took home the NEC Player of the Year, while Marblehead bench boss John Wilkins was named Coach of the Year after guiding his team to a 10-2 record in league play. Salem took home the Sportsmanship Award.
Winthrop and Marblehead each had three named to the All-Conference team while Danvers and Swampscott both had two.
Sports Editor Nick Giannino may be contacted at 978-675-2712 or ngiannino@northofboston.com.