‘Having Dean on the field was like having another coach’
Central Valley. Dean Pesce, captain of the Section 9 Champion Monroe-Woodbury Varsity Lacrosse team, named an All American Lacrosse goalie.
| 14 Jul 2021 | 12:07
The Section 9 Champion Crusaders celebrate their victory over Kingston. Photos by William Dimmit.
Dean Pesce’s solid play in net helped propel the Crusaders to the Section 9 Title.
With the season on the line, Dean Pesce comes up with a big save in the waning moments of the Section 9 Championship game.
Crusader Goalie Dean Pesce was awarded with All-American honors.
Dean Pesce has been a three-year starter and captain of the Monroe-Woodbury lacrosse team and recently been named an All American Lacrosse goalie.
“Players like Dean only come around once and in a while and that’s if you are lucky,” Varsity Defensive Coach John LaBella said. “Fortunately for us, we had him this year. Having Dean on the field was like having another coach, this helped tremendously when it counted most. His teammates had someone to look to when things seemed like they may have been falling apart.
“We will miss Dean next year,” LaBella added, “and wish him nothing but the best with his future at Springfield College and beyond.”
This season Dean had more than 120 saves, but what brought him to the All-American title was his effort and commitment to always improving himself and his game off-season and in-season.
This commitment led to countless key saves with the game on the line and end of the game sprints to gain possession in the biggest win of the year: the Section 9 Championship.
When asked what kept him working through the COVID restrictions, Dean quoted Jerry Rice: “Today I will do what others won’t so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.”
All-Section 9 teammates
Dean was also named to the All-Section 9 team along with Ethan Gollinger, Timmy Philbin and Tom Concannon.
In addition to lacrosse, Dean was the captain of the football team.
He graduated with a comprehensive honors diploma with a 96+ GPA.
He is looking forward to attending Springfield College with the acceptance into the six-year Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
- William Dimmit