WEST ANDOVER — In the last 30 years, the Greater Lawrence Tech boys soccer team has had two winning seasons, and has not won a state tournament game.
Coaches were coming and going at the drop of a hat. The Reggies were co-ed during the pandemic.
Now in his fourth year, Ryan DiBenedetto has taken the Reggies from the bottom of the Commonwealth Conference standings to the top, as well as the Eagle-Tribune’s No. 1 ranked team.
On Friday afternoon, the Reggies remained perfect on the season with a 1-0 non-league win over Malden Catholic behind a goal from Daniel De Paz and a shutout by goalie Nick Rapaglia, which included a terrific penalty kick save in the second half.
The win propels the Reggies to a 5-0 start, believed to be the best in program history, while outscoring teams 19-1.
Wins. Pride. Fun.
That’s all happening on River Street.
“The kids now walk around in the hallways with their game jerseys on with a sense of pride, knowing there’s something to be proud of,” said DiBenedetto. “The vibe and the expectations are higher and I think the culture of the program is different. You try out for Greater Lawrence to make the varsity team that’s going to be competing for state tournament appearances year after year. That’s our expectation. It means something to make the varsity team. It’s not just another sport to do after school.”
When DiBenedetto arrived at Greater Lawrence, the former goalie at Wakefield High and Franklin Pierce — and 11-year assistant coach at Wakefield — immediately implemented structure, discipline, accountability and organization.
“When we came in as a freshmen, we lost a lot of games but (DiBenedetto and his assistants) never quit on us. They never said we’re leaving here to go (coach) at another school. They stuck with us,” said senior striker Thomas Kotas.
“I remember practices where kids would just be punting the ball in the air and doing nothing else. Coach jumped right on that and said ‘this has to stop’. That first year, no one paid attention and kept losing their equipment. I remember we lost like 40 balls that season. That’s not happening anymore.”
Neither is the losing.
“We had a rough, rough start (in 2021) and we just have been getting better and better, because of all of the hard work,” said defensive back Michael DeLeon. “We’re just taking it to another level. We want to leave a message for the JV kids and the future that this is a strong program. We want them to know what’s expected.”
Over his three years, the Reggies have gone from five wins to nine, and last year eight. The past two years the team qualified for the state tournament, but lost in the preliminary round.
“I just want to teach these kids that when they develop their technical skills, they develop some belief that they can really accomplish some high level things out on the field,” said DiBenedetto. “The seniors have gotten a taste of what success feels like. They know they’re right on the edge of it, and because they have bought in, they now know that they are there. They’ve got a lot of belief and a lot of grit.
“This group’s got something special.”