Scarlet Hawks hope to earn tournament bid

By Chris Villani

Sports Writer

A season ago, the Milford High boys’ lacrosse team had relatively low participation, which made competing in the Hockomock League even more difficult. This season, turnout has nearly doubled, and the Scarlet Hawks were able to field a JV team for the first time since 2017.

“We are looking to be more competitive in the Hock,” head coach Austin Costa said. “The expectations are that we will continue to grow and develop our younger guys and newer players.”

The varsity program has benefited from a strong youth program led by Jeff Baldic and Amanda Lind, Costa said.

 Milford boys’ lacrosse captain Jacob Ligor (#4) is among the team leaders in goals and assists. Photo credit Joey Mahoney

“Those are two people who have done a lot of hard work with the youth program and now it is paying dividends at the high school level,” Costa said. “I have been working with some of the youth as well and I’ve been seeing some of these younger guys.”

This year’s varsity team has several standout players. Senior captain Jacob Ligor is among the team’s top scorers and his offensive output has been balanced in terms of goals and assists. Eric Farrell, another senior, is also a balanced offensive threat who has been running on the attack alongside Ligor.

Senior Alex McGuire is stopping shots at nearly a 60% clip in goal.

“He has been fantastic for us,” Costa said. “He is making a lot of big saves.”

Milford has benefited from three freshmen, each of whom is making an impact despite it being just their first varsity season. Henry Baldic has not only provided points, he is also winning 57% percent of his face-offs. The Scarlet Hawks won just 28% of their face-offs in 2022. Dylan Burns is leading the team in forcing turnovers and scooping up ground balls and midfielder Jason Stokes is fourth on the team in points. 

Another young athlete, Jayden Martins, led the team in goals through the first seven games of the season. 

Costa said the goal for the Scarlet Hawks is to make it to the tournament.

“I think we will have a chance to get to that point in the season,” he said. “We also want to continue to grow and develop. We have a roster of more than 30 kids. Some of them are learning and getting that game experience and I think our seniors are doing a great job of leading the way.”