Acton-Boxboro (Mass.) has appeared in four consecutive MIAA semifinals and is among the most successful public school programs in the state.
It means that the Revolution has reloaded and retooled its roster plenty of times to replace the high-end talent lost to graduation each year. It’s simply the nature of high school sports.
But that reality has only become more challenging for the program in recent years. Acton-Boxboro is eyeing a problem plaguing many teams — across all sports — in the MIAA.
Numbers.
With roughly 36 players expected to return to the program in 2027, what will Acton-Boxboro look like this season?
Zoomed-out view
Acton-Boxboro turned in an impressive 15-2 mark this past spring that landed the Revolution the No. 4 seed in the state tournament. After advancing to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive season, Acton-Boxboro bowed out against top-seeded Lincoln-Sudbury.
But head coach Pat Ammendolia estimates that only 36 players will remain from last season's program, including varsity and JV. When Ammendolia took over at the helm in 2008, he said there were over 100 kids in the program.
Acton-Boxboro graduated a bevy of talent from last season's roster, including Bentley commits Tristan Clayton and Christian Maranian. Will Cronin, Jon Funk, Connor Lent and Will Rosenthal were also DCL all-stars.
“They scored a lot of goals for us, so we’re going to have to figure out how to supplement that as well," Ammendolia said of the graduating offensive players. "There’s going to be at least three new guys who are going to have to step up and put some in there.”
The coach
Ammendolia has built Acton-Boxboro into a state power, highlighted by a Division 1 state title in 2014. In the past four seasons that the Revolution have advanced to the Division 1 Final Four, the team has amassed a regular season record of 59-12.
He played collegiately at Eastern Connecticut State, where he ranks sixth in program history in career ground balls and is a member of the school's Hall of Fame. He was a two-time selection to the USILA All-America and NEILA All-New England teams and led the program to four straight conference titles.
The star players
Acton-Boxboro still returns a myriad of talent. Look no further than UMass commit Ethan Fennel, who will be a senior this spring before doing a post-graduate year at an undecided prep school. He scored an eye-popping 62 goals and added 38 assists last spring as a junior. This season, he has a chance at history. With 227 career points, he's closing in on the all-time point record in program history, which is held by Clayton (244).
“If he can stay healthy, I think he can push (Clayton) for that record," Ammendolia said.
Between the pipes, Plattsburgh commit Chris Houle is bound for a big season. After arriving at the program as a defender, Houle made the switch to goalie to fill an area of need. He eventually earned the starting role.
“Towards the end of his freshman year, I could see him getting a little bit better, and then as a sophomore, he was basically pushing for the starting job and kind of halfway through the year, he won it," Ammendolia said.
Ammendolia said Houle was one of the best goalies in the state this past spring as a junior. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Houle's numbers back up that sentiment. He made 220 saves and sported a 63 percent save percentage and a 5.60 goals-against average.
“The ceiling is high," Ammendolia said. "This is his fourth year ever playing goalie. And I think he’s one of the top in the state.”
Elsewhere, returning attackman Thomas Quirk, a Hamilton College football commit, is an important piece. Midfielder Evan Lavene will also play a big role.
Breakout candidates
Faceoff specialist James Dee perhaps already broke out for Acton-Boxboro this past spring as a freshman. But with a year of varsity lacrosse under his belt, look for the skillful Dee to take an even bigger leap. He boasted a 61.5 percent success rate.
Defensively, Tyler Pandolfo had a strong sophomore campaign at defense and is poised for a bigger role.
“Excellent athlete," Ammendolia said. "Good hockey player as well, but he has a really great motor and good sense for the game and is a good defender and a good leader.”
Defender Will Callaghan and midfielder Will Coffey are also players to watch.
The ceiling
Acton-Boxboro certainly is strong in net. And they have an offensive dynamo in Fennel to lead the way. Those two components alone give any team an undeniable edge.
For the Revolution, its success will ultimately come down to depth pieces stepping up to fill the void of a large graduating senior class from 2026. If Acton-Boxboro can do that, look for Ammendolia's squad to be in the mix as usual.
