MARBLEHEAD — Coaches often say the foundation of a winning program starts with its leadership. With leaders who can guide their teammates through the ups and downs of a grueling season, both on and off the field, success tends to follow.
That’s the type of leadership senior midfielder Lydia Bongiorno brings to the Marblehead girls lacrosse team.
“Lydia’s a four-year starter,” Magicians coach Annie Madden said. “She’s one of the hardest workers we’ve ever had in our program. She brings the level of play up in practice and every single game. Her competitive play is something that has helped allow us to be successful.”
Bongiorno is a key ingredient to a Magicians offense that has dominated this season. She has scored 47 goals on 74 shots, and has dished 10 assists in 15 games.
“Lydia’s individual work ethic and her competitive edge helps her be so successful,” Madden said. “She has been a hard worker since the day she picked up a lacrosse stick. She’s an incredible mentor for the youth players and the underclassmen in our program.”
Bongiorno, who scored her 200th career goal earlier this season in a win over Beverly, said none of her individual success would be possible without her teammates.
“I wouldn’t have any of it without them,” said Bongiorno, a co-captain. “It starts with the goalie, all the way up the field. Even the feedback is really important. We know what we can do to get the ball from there, we know what we need to do on defense to set up the turnovers. I really couldn’t do it without any of them.
“When we work as a team, we play at our best. When we’re passing the ball in the midfield and the attack, when we’re communicating on defense, that’s when we’re at our best.”
Bongiorno, who also runs indoor track, is just as impressive in the classroom. She carries a 4.42 GPA and was one of Marblehead’s two recipients of the Northeastern Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award.
“Academics means a lot to me,” Bongiorno said. “I always try to make sure to put in as much work into school as I do with sports, getting all my school work done. It’s been hard managing my time over the years but I think I’m getting a lot better.”
She’ll attend Brown University in the fall and will continue her lacrosse career with the Bears. Bongiorno committed during her sophomore year.
“I was looking for a school that was going to bring a good balance of academics and lacrosse,” Bongiorno said. “Brown’s where I got the best of both worlds. I could see myself out on the field there. I really liked the Providence area so my parents can keep coming to games.”
Madden believes Bongiorno is well-suited to flourish at the collegiate level.
“Any coach will love having Lydia on the field because of how hard she works, in the classroom, in the community and on the field,” Madden said. “Any coach is lucky to have her. Lydia’s incredible speed is going to get her on the field at some point. She’ll get there and she’s going to help Brown, especially with her speed.”
Marblehead started its season slowly, dropping three of its first five games. But the Magicians tested themselves with a slate of competitive non-conference opponents and it paid dividends. Marblehead won 10 in a row before losing to Masconomet earlier this week. The Magicians are 9-0 in NEC play.
“We’re all really glad we got to play that tough competition at the beginning,” Bongiorno said. “Right from the start we saw what our weaknesses were. Now that we’re playing conference games, we can come out strong and improve those areas that we need to improve.”
While Marblehead’s known for making noise in the NEC and state tournament, the Magicians don’t feel any pressure to follow the road paved by past teams. This year’s group’s focused on writing its own chapter.
“We’re very passionate about lacrosse,” Bongiorno said. “We want to make it far. It’s our goal to make the state tournament, win the conference and make a run in the tournament. Our end goal is to win the state tournament.”
The Magicians (11-4) have already sealed their state tournament bid. They have three regular season games remaining, starting with Monday’s NEC tilt at Revere.