WORCESTER—A dedicated group of five seniors have led the Worcester girls co-op lacrosse team to consecutive winning seasons after challenging beginnings at the junior varsity level just three years ago.
Sharon King, in her second season as varsity head coach, has been there for the whole journey. When the current seniors were freshmen, King served as the junior varsity coach, a role which often came with teaching inexperienced players as well as its fair share of losses.
“It’s a testament to the girls and their athletic ability and their determination to actually stick with the sport because their JV years are really tough,” noted King, a math teacher at South High who is in her fifth overall season coaching for Worcester.
Without an abundance of youth lacrosse programs in the Worcester area, most players are starting lacrosse for the first time when they try out for the citywide co-op team.
For instance, the team’s goalkeeper Ella Orcinch, a sophomore at Doherty, had never played lacrosse before this season.
“It’s a tough role to get lacrosse balls pelted at you at a varsity level when you’ve never even held a lacrosse stick,” said King, a 2021 graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.
Seniors on the squad are Emma McNally, Payton Bailey, Elisse Boucher, Gabrielle Mierzejewski and Gianna Amaro Gentile. McNally, Bailey, Boucher and Amaro Gentile are all students at Doherty while Mierzejewski attends Worcester Tech. The tri-captains are McNally, Bailey and Boucher.
“The way I look at my seniors is that we grew through the program together. We cultivated this community,” said King. “When I think about lacrosse, I think about this group of seniors. It’s going to be bittersweet to see them leave. I’m really happy that this group is so determined to make it to states and extend their season.”
Worcester’s roster features 21 players from four schools: 13 from Doherty, five from South, two from Tech and one from North High. The team practices and plays home games on the turf field at South.
Lacrosse is one of eight city-wide co-op sports offered by the Worcester Public Schools along with crew, ice hockey, skiing, swimming, wrestling, girls golf and rugby.
Although Worcester (8-5) began the season with losses in three of its first five games, the Warriors rebounded with four straight victories, and have now won six of their last eight contests. Worcester is in second place in the Central Mass. Athletic Conference B standings at 7-2 behind Hopedale who remains undefeated in four league games. The Warriors have scored 143 total goals at a rate of 11 per game, the highest in the division.
Leading the way on offense has been Boucher who ranks among the top players in overall scoring for the Central Mass. region with 59 points on 50 goals and nine assists. She is also second in scoring within the division. For her career, she has recorded an impressive 188 points on 151 goals and 37 assists.
Supporting Boucher are junior Chloe Gervais of Doherty (32 points – 30 goals, two assists), freshman Kristaya Smart of Worcester Tech (30 points—27 goals, three assists) and McNally (16 points – 11 goals, five assists) who give the Warriors four of the top eight scorers in the division.
Other Worcester players with 10 or more points are Bailey (13 points – five goals, eight assists) and junior Jazlyn Cuadrado of North (11 points – 10 goals, one assist).
In 2025, the Warriors qualified for the Division 2 state tournament after going 11-5 in the regular season. As the number 37 seed, Worcester fell 13-7 to number 28 Malden Catholic in the opening round.
Five regular season games remain for Worcester this season, and a second consecutive trip to the state tournament is still well within reach. The Warriors previously defeated three of their remaining five opponents earlier this season (Auburn, Blackstone Valley Regional and Assabet Valley Regional).
Coaching this group of players has been a highlight of King’s lacrosse career, which started several years ago when she was just a third grade student in her hometown of Watertown.
“I look forward to lacrosse season every year,” said King. “To me it’s not really a job–it’s fun.”
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
