While longtime Pinkerton Academy boys’ lacrosse coach Brian O’Reilly and his Astro charges didn’t manage to snare the Division I title they so desired at the end of the 2014 high school sports season, many of the squad’s standouts received recognition and honors during the post-season period.
College-bound recent senior graduates Sean Delea and Jake Lisauskas were both named All-Americans, and both young men were also among the Astros selected for New Hampshire All-State contingents.
Lisauskas – who will play his collegiate lax at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst – overcame a knee injury that sidelined him for the entire 2013 football season last fall and was named an All-American for the second straight year. And Delea, who will play the sport at Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, was named an All-American for the first time.
“Sean and Jake controlled our offense throughout the year,” said O’Reilly. “They were both unselfish players who were just as happy to feed others as score themselves. Jake had the laser shot, and Sean had one of the quickest releases we have seen in years. He was also deadly accurate on inside pipe shots.”
Those two talented laxmen were also among seven Astros named First-Team All-Staters by New Hampshire’s high school lacrosse coaches. The others included their senior teammates Evan Sweeney (an attack), Brett Connal (defender), and Cam Hayward (goalie), junior Cam Richard (defense), and sophomore Brett Dattilo (middie).
PA’s Second-Team All-Staters were seniors Garrett Faino (middie), Austin Maylor (middie), and Matt Madden (defense), and junior Todd Billetter (attack).
Honorable Mention selections from PA were junior defender Ryan Burke and sophomore James Tulley.
After tallying a 15-3 regular season record, the second-seeded Astros disposed of both Londonderry and Exeter in tournament play before falling to the now five-time defending Division I champion Bishop Guertin Cardinals of Nashua in the title contest.
