2016 Mass Prep Stars Boys Lacrosse Public School Defensive Player of the Year: WIll Bowen ‘18
BC High defenseman Will Bowen ’16 is our 2016 Mass Prep Stars Boys Lacrosse Public School Defensive Player of the Year.
Bowen had a breakout sophomore season in 2016, helping lead BC High to an appearance in the Division 1 State Championship game at Boston University.
"This season was like no other," Bowen told Mass Prep Stars. "I was so fortunate to be a part of such a great run, with such great guys."
In just his second high school season, the Eastern-Mass First Team All-American anchored a defense, which was widely regarded as one of the state’s top units.
“Every single one of the guys on our defense this year approached every practice and every game with an incredible sense of toughness and determination,” Bowen said. "We had great cover guys, but the reason why we were so tough was our team orientation. It was our work together as a unit that made us good, not our individual play."
Bowen, who has already committed to the 2016 NCAA Division 1 Champion University of North Carolina Tarheels, attributes much of BC High's success this season to a strong senior class of leaders.
"The group of seniors on this year's team was, without a doubt, the reason for this team's success," Bowen said. "We had vocal leaders, like Matt Haggerty and AJ Kucinski, to those who led by example, like Mike Haggan and Oskar Djusberg, to those who did not even touch the field all year, but who held high morale and pushed each other every day in practice."
The 6-foot-3, 215 pound Bowen is widely regarded as one of the top physical and skilled on ball and team defenders in Massachusetts. Bowen is also accomplished on the ground, collecting 121 ground balls this season to go with his impressive 77 takeaways or forced turnovers.
Bowen also scored six goals and added eight assists from his defensive position this season, and teamed with aggressive LSM and fellow All-American Djusberg, to keep team's honest in the full-field.
Bowen attributed the huge progress he made, from his freshman to sophomore seasons, to a dedicated effort on and off the field.
"Over the off-season I dedicated my training and improvements to my strength and foot speed," Bowen said. "Through continuous repetitions in the weight room, I found myself in a much better position coming in to the pre-season and even in fall events. My confidence was also lacking my freshman year, and as my teammates built me up over the off-season, I found a sense of confidence to push myself to be the best that I could possibly be."
Bowen, who has collected numerous post-season honors, including All-League, All-Scholastic and All-American recognition, will spend his summer playing for Laxachusetts, and competing in events, such as the Under Armour All-American Underclassmen games.
The rising junior acknowledged that there is certainly more to be done, on both a personal and team level.
"I want to continue to work in the weight room and develop physically, while also working on my on-ball defense and stick checks, in an attempt to take the ball away in end-of-game situations," Bowen said. "With another incredible group of seniors coming in next year, I hope to work with them to establish our goals and get the team together over the summer to make sure that everyone is on the same page about our expectations for next year."
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