It only took one season of college lacrosse for Will Pesce’s teammates and coaches at Magruder to recognize his leadership abilities.

The Colonels voted the senior captain into that position before his sophomore year. Usually, a team only entrusts the captaincy to such a young player when it knows that he will not disappoint.

Pesce, committed to play lacrosse at Howard Community College, is this week’s Montgomery County High School Athlete of the Week.

Each week during the school year, the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame partners with Montgomery Community Media to honor the Athlete of the Week from the county’s more than 40 public and private high schools.

Central Division Co-Player of the Week: William Pesce, Attack, @MagruderLax. In a game last week against Blake, Will had 5 points (4G/1A), 3 Gb, and 1 ft. pic.twitter.com/Gk8HWfIlwO

– MoCo MD Lacrosse (@MocoMDBoysLacro) May 13, 2022

Magruder clinched first place in the Class 3A West II Division heading into the upcoming playoffs.

“The heart that the team has, the grit that they show, I think it really comes from (Pesce),” head coach Gregory Lyons told MCM. “I can’t tell you the number of times he’s fallen where I thought he broke something, and then boom, he gets back up again.”

In each of the last three seasons, Pesce averaged just over four points (goals plus assists) per game. Magruder lost in the last two regional tournaments and reached the finals last year.

Through eight games in 2024, Pesce has shifted gears, recording a staggering seven points per game.

The attackman posted consecutive career single-game points highs to open the season, scoring 11 in the opener against Gaithersburg on March 22. His 12 points in the next game against Rockville are the most any Colonel has ever scored in a game. .

“He’s one of the most talented shooters I’ve ever seen in terms of the way he shoots the ball from all angles,” Lyons said. “The team in general just took on part of his identity.”

Magruder defeated rivals Wootton and Quince Orchard in their two most recent games, teams they last won against in 2003. As it happened, that was Coach Lyons’ last year.

These victories came with a combined margin of victory of three goals. The 5-4 win over Quince Orchard marked the Colonels’ third one-goal victory this season.

“Every team we have left is tough, they’re all going to be tough games,” Lyons said. “Throughout the games we’ve played, we’ve gotten this mantra that ‘we win close games.’”

Featured image by Kenneth Storck via Lacrosse Magruder in X.