A pair of Kingston natives are set to play roles on a local college football powerhouse this upcoming season.

The Harvard football team has not had a losing season since 1998 under the direction of Kingston native Tim Murphy as its head coach. For the third consecutive season, he is not the team’s only Kingston connection. Rather, junior defensive back Mike Silva hails from Kingston as well.

Murphy has been Harvard’s coach since 1994 and in that timeframe, his teams have won the Ivy League Championship nine times. His record at Harvard is an impressive 174-75 and overall as a Division I college football head coach, it stands at 206-120-1.

A 1978 Springfield College grad, Murphy got his start coaching at the collegiate level as a part time assistant at Brown in 1979. The next year, he hired on as an assistant offensive line coach.

The following year, he took the offensive line coach job at Lafayette before holding the same job at Boston University for three seasons. From 1985 to 1986, he served as the University of Maine’s offensive coordinator before taking their head coaching job in 1987. He held that post for two seasons before becoming the University of Cincinnati’s head coach from 1989 to 1993. He has been with Harvard ever since.

Meanwhile, Silva, a Milton Academy product who appeared in four games at Harvard last season and recorded a tackle, could see an expanded playing role this time around. After all, the team lost its two starting safeties to graduation following last season: Zach Miller and Cole Thompson. Plus, defensive backs Wesley Ogsbury and Tyler Gray, who each appeared in all 10 games last season, will be graduating. That said, Harvard will look a little different in the secondary and have spots up for grabs.

Harvard’s first regular season game this year will be Saturday, Sep. 21 on the road against the University of San Diego.

It is hard enough for a local athlete to earn the honor of being named a league All-Star or an All-Scholastic by a media organization. However, it is far more rare for one to be recognized at the national level — especially when they are not even a senior yet.

Even so, this was the case for Alexa Connors, a junior on the Lakers girls swim team this past winter. The standout swimmer was named to the National Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association’s All-American team.

Connors earned the cut in the 500 freestyle despite the list encompassing the entire country and being limited to just 100 spots. Overall, she was one of just two Massachusetts natives to earn the honor. Her 4:53.14 time in the 500 freestyle ranked 58th in the country and the highest of any New England high school girls swimming athlete since the other five states did not have anyone selected.

Last winter, Connors won the MIAA Division 1 state championship in both the 200 and 500 freestyle respectively (1:50.84 and 4:53.14). She also shined regionally, winning the 200 freestyle at the 2019 New England 15-18 Age Group Championship meet. That time, she finished it in 1:52.35.

As Swim Swam reported earlier this month, Connors will also continue her swim career after she graduates from Silver Lake next year. She is committed to the University of Richmond (NCAA Div. I) as of earlier this month. At the school, Connors has the potential to make a serious impact. Her personal-best time in the 500 freestyle would rank seventh all-time in the record books at Richmond.

While Connors has that to look forward to in the future, she also has a chance to shine for the Lakers once again next winter and defend both of her state titles.

A recent Silver Lake High graduate and standout player on the boys’ lacrosse team this past spring recently earned high praise within the region.

Sean Daly had a standout career for the Lakers as a four year varsity player, but it was his strong performance his senior year which landed him his most recent honor. The multi-time Patriot League All-Star was one of two players to earn Honorable Mention in Wicked Local’s MIAA South region Senior of the Year Award.

Ultimately, the award went to Will Kenney of Hingham and both Daly and Eddie Fettuccia of Norwell were the two runners up.

Over the course of his Lakers career, Daly helped establish the program as a perennial playoff contender. His freshman year, the team had a rough 1-17 where they only won the final game of the season against a winless Milton team. However, the program continued to improve and made it to the playoffs three straight seasons with him as a top scoring player in each of those years.

Daly earned the Lakers Team MVP award twice and finished his high school career with 249 career points: 146 goals and 103 assists. He also helped the team set a franchise win record this season (15). By the end of the season, the team was ranked 33rd in the state on MaxPreps. Daly was also a part of an attack which averaged 13.4 goals per game this past spring.

Although Daly might be best remembered for his lacrosse career at Silver Lake, he was also a productive soccer player for the Lakers.

Daly is committed to play lacrosse next season at Franklin Pierce, a Division II school in New Hampshire which competes in the Northeast 10 Conference. There were numerous teams interested in his services including the UMass Amherst, a Div. I program.

The Silver Lake High baseball team saw one of its members recognized at the statewide level this past weekend.

When the Boston Herald released its 2019 Spring All-Scholastic rankings over the weekend, a junior pitcher from the Lakers staff made the cut. That would be Halifax native Michael Quigley. It is his first time receiving the honor.

Quigley, who was a third-year varsity player this past spring, had a dominant campaign not only on the mound, but at the plate as well.

As a pitcher, the righty went 7-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 54 innings pitched. Over that same span, he struck out 73 batters, saved two games and tossed a no-hitter.

However, as the Herald notes, Quigley’s numbers are far better if the Lakers early season struggles are ignored.

Over the final 48 innings he pitched this past spring, his ERA was a miniscule 0.46–making him among the state’s most dominant arms.

At the plate, Quigley also got the job done. He collected 23 hits in 59 at-bats, good for a .389 batting average. In the process, he also knocked in 15 runs. That said, he should also be an asset to the team’s batting order next season.

At the moment, Quigley is committed to play Division I baseball for UMass-Lowell when his high school career comes to a close.

According to Perfect Game, Quigley’s pitch has topped out at 85 miles per hour, but he has been clocked at 92 when throwing in the infield.

Next season, pitching should absolutely be a strength for the Lakers.

Not only do they have Quigley expected to return next season, but Nolan Hughes as well.

A Patriot League All-Star this past spring, Hughes’ return means the team should have back two of their three primary starting pitchers. This should be a major advantage for them.

There was success on both sides in the Silver Lake High tennis program, and the two varsity teams should have plenty to look forward to next season.

Both the Lakers boys’ and girls’ teams enjoyed their share of success despite not having the biggest rosters in the school. The boys went 10-9 on the season while the girls went 11-7.

In the final seven days of their regular season, the boys squad surged and picked up three wins, improving to 9-8 on the season in order to make it to the playoffs. Had they lost any of those contest, that would not have been the case.

Earning the No. 16 seed in the MIAA Division I South playoff bracket, they ousted Bridgewater-Raynham 5-0 in the preliminary round game.

Coming in they were favored to win the game not only because of the higher seeding (16 as opposed to 17), but because the Lakers also topped them 5-0 on May 29.

However, the team dropped a 5-0 decision to Brookline in the first round of the tournament.

The girls had an easier time getting into the playoffs, clinching a spot in them before the final week of their season. They ran into a tough King Philip team in the first round of the tournament and fell 4-1, ending their season.

Of their starting seven, the girls lost three seniors to graduation this season: singles player Sarah Gonick and doubles players Jenna Hurlburt and Morgan Suchecki.

Meanwhile, sophomore singles players Eleanor Meehan and Ava Mirisola as well as doubles players Grace Eddy, a junior and Alyssa Truckenmiller, a sophomore, could all be returning next season.

The boys lost four seniors to graduation: singles players Dylan Capaccioli, Owen Roche and Dario Mendez plus doubles player Kyle Lawless. Junior doubles player Sean Kehoe, sophomores Matthew O’Donnell (doubles) and Jake Lawless (singles) as well as freshmen Aidan Roche (singles), Dustin Ebone (singles) and Andrew Doyle (doubles) could all be back next year.

With the majority of the team coming back on both sides, more success is certainly plausible.

Each and every season, a number of Silver Lake High varsity athletes shine in their respective sports. For the boys’ lacrosse team this spring, it was no different.

The team has made it to the playoffs in three straight seasons and this time around, they finished the year at 15-5 after falling in overtime to Natick in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 South boys’ tournament. Even so, the team had a number of standout performers who received all-league honors. That said, here is a look at the boys’ lacrosse athletes who received honors within the Patriot League.

Sean Daly — This season marked the third and final time Daly received the honor of being named a Patriot League All-Star. A go-to scorer for the team over the past four seasons, Daly netted well over 200 goals during his Lakers career. Daly was the only senior to get the nod this spring. He is committed to play lacrosse in college for the Division II Franklin Pierce Ravens.

Mikey Masterpolo — This marks the second time the junior goalkeeper has earned recognition as a Patriot League All-Star; this time around, he and the Lakers stout defense surrendered just 6.85 goals per game.

Matt Dole — A repeat Patriot League All-Star, the junior faceoff man and midfielder helped the team gain possession and was a contributor on the attack.

Drew Nugent — A first time Patriot League All-Star, the attackman played a crucial role in the team averaging 13.4 goals per game this past season.

Senior captains Dave Marani, a defenseman, and Brendan Dean, who played on the attack, both received recognition as well; Marani was the team’s scholar athlete while Dean received the sportsmanship award.

With three Patriot League All-Stars set to return next season, surely the Lakers are in a position where they can enjoy success yet again in 2020.

The Silver Lake High softball team’s first round playoff game did not go the way that they had hoped.

The No. 7 seeded Lakers hosted Marshfield, the 10 seed, on Friday afternoon to start off the MIAA Division 1 South playoffs. Marshfield brought their best bats with them and topped Silver Lake 9-3, ending the Lakers’ season.

The Lakers finish the season at 15-6 overall.

Marshfield set the tone in the top of the first inning, tacking on four runs–which made the difference in the game. Each of their first four batters reached base and eventually, Marshfield knocked in all of them.

The Lakers trimmed their deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the first inning; Izzy Ruprecht shined in the game, collecting three hits and reaching base three times. Ari Sylvester knocked her in on a sacrifice fly the first time Ruprecht reached base.

Ruprecht also scored a run with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lilly Gustafson hit an RBI single to make it a 9-3 game. However, the Lakers were unable to make a comeback when down six runs.

Bri Belfort pitched for the Lakers and took the loss, but was sharp for much of the game. She had a stretch towards the end of the contest in which she retired eight straight batters. She also escaped a bases loaded jam in the sixth inning without surrendering any additional runs.

An experienced team, the Lakers will lose seven players to graduation now that their season is over.

These include: Izzy Ruprecht, Amanda Harris, Jessica Stas, Hayden Wechter, Hannah Mitchell, Stephanie Bennett and Eleanor Swanson.

Even so, pitching should be a strong suit yet again next season with the team’s ace, Bri Belfort, set to return; Ari Sylvester will also be back next season at third base.