High school boys lacrosse: Frontier League MVPs Adams, Spaziani kept Watertown at the top
Jun. 20—WATERTOWN — Jack Adams and Nico Spaziani have forged both chemistry and a bond over the years through lacrosse.
After all, the two have been playing together in the sport since about when both picked up a lacrosse stick for the first time.
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Fast forward to the present to their current success as Adams and Spaziani have helped lead the Watertown boys lacrosse program to new heights over the past two years.
For their efforts, Adams and Spaziani, who are both senior midfielders, have been selected Times All-North co-MVPs from the Frontier League in boys lacrosse.
"We both when we were younger kind of had the same kind of game," Spaziani said. "But then as you get older, we kind of went separate paths, he's more of like a passer and I'm more of a scorer."
The duo also holds the distinction of being selected as All-Americans, a first for the Cyclones program in a single season.
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Spaziani is one of six lacrosse players from Section 3 selected as a USA Lacrosse All-American, while Adams was chosen as one of six players in the sport from the section as a USA Lacrosse Academic All-American.
"The chemistry is phenomenal," Watertown coach Brian Navarra said of the two. "And again, that's what made it that much more fun to coach, too. They knew where each other was going to be, they knew how to help each other, they knew how to communicate with each other, because they've done that on and off the field. It's a tight-knit group off the field as well."
"It's a great compliment and it's definitely something to look back on," Adams said, "This whole senior class have had great careers and definitely left their mark on the program."
Adams and Spaziani also shared All-North MVP recognition in the sport for the second straight season.
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"It's a good feeling to be recognized like that," Spaziani said. "Jack and I have been playing together since we first started playing lacrosse."
Their statistics from this season show how both complement each other on the field as the high-scoring Spaziani generated a league-leading 63 goals while assisting on 33 others for a league-best 96 points.
Meanwhile as more of a distributor on offense, Adams totaled 51 assists and 38 goals to produce 89 points on the season.
"(Watertown's players have) been such great examples, especially these two guys and all the seniors," Navarra said. "We trust them to come into practice and there's not a ton of teaching. It's just coaching the X's and O's and strategies which has been a ton of fun for us."
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"All the way back since we started," Adams said of the team's chemistry. "Most of the senior class since we started, kindergarten and all the way through we've been playing together and developing our skills, and it's kind of led to our success over the last couple years."
The pair's impact on Watertown lacrosse has been such that they have been referred to by Navarra as "program changers."
"This year there were 12 of them, totally changing the outlook of the program," Navarra said of the team's seniors. "They've started young, like in third or fourth grade. I thank their parents, especially their fathers who helped coach them in that youth lacrosse level and kept them all together. There's so much club-team action and participation that goes on and there's nothing wrong with that.
"But nothing truly beats keeping your group together of high school kids and their success has proven that. When you stay together, your high school team's definitely going to be more successful."
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"All the way back since we started," Adams said. "Most of the senior class since we started, kindergarten and all the way through we've been playing together and developing our skills and it's kind of led to our success over the last couple years."
As team leaders Adams and Spaziani helped guide the Cyclones to even more success this season.
"In so many ways the expectations have just risen," Navarra said. "Definitely, our goals have gone from wanting to win a Frontier League championship to getting to and sectional finals and winning in the sectional finals. It's an expectation that we should be there every year, and these guys have kind of set that path moving forward."
Watertown won its sixth consecutive Frontier League title, a feat that dates back to 2019, also becoming the first team in the program to record three consecutive unbeaten seasons in the circuit.
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It has also won its last 25 games in league play dating back to the 2022 season.
"A few years back it was like Carthage was the talk," Spaziani said. "A lot more than a few years ago they had like the Powells and such. It's changed, it's all about like every team just wants to beat us now in the Frontier League," Spaziani said. "And I mean this year it showed because we had couple Syracuse schools call to play us, like (Jamesville-DeWitt), which just went to the state championship, so it's a good feeling."
In the postseason, Watertown hosted a sectional semifinal, defeating East Syracuse-Minoa for the second straight year in Class B.
The Cyclones advanced to their second consecutive Section 3 final after reaching the title game for the first time last year.
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They were beaten in a sectional final once again, in a 9-6 decision to Christian Brothers Academy after Watertown built a two-goal lead through the first half.
"The last game it was sad," Spaziani said. "We knew we should have won that game, but didn't really show up like we should have."
"It's super disappointing that we didn't get it done," Adams said. "Unfortunately I was pretty injured and couldn't do much and did the best I could. But my team did good considering and kept it close, not our best games, but it was definitely a good effort."
Yet this outcome didn't diminish from the team's accomplishments this year.
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"It's too bad we couldn't get it done," Adams said, "But we've really accomplished every other goal we had, like again, undefeated in the league. Really we thought we could have pulled it off this year and unfortunately we couldn't, but hopefully we set the bar high for others to come up through the program and hopefully they can build on what we accomplished this year."
Statistically, Spaziani finished with 183 goals and 106 assists for 289 points in his career, ranking him third on the school's all-time scoring list, trailing only Greg Niewieroski and Kenny Nims.
Meanwhile, Adams compiled 127 goals and 125 assists to total 252 points, ranking him fourth on the school's all-time scoring list.
"We had a lot of great players around me, so that helps, for sure," Adams said.
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In addition, Adams has accumulated a 94.0 grade point average, ranking him in the top 10 percent of his class, is a member of many clubs at school, and participates in several community service opportunities throughout the year, according to Navarra.
While possessing different styles of play, Spaziani and Adams continued to play well off each other's games.
With a dangerous shot, Spaziani continued to generate goals even while being covered defensively even more this season.
"It makes me a lot better with harder competition," Spaziani said. "Making it harder for me to get the ball on offense and stuff."
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"Great shooter and a great scorer," Adams said of Spaziani. "We're both midfielders and both have different strengths that help each out and help each other get open and create."
Adams helped to direct and set up the team offensively, distributing the ball as well as generating goals of his own.
"Definitely his ability to dodge and his ability to feed the ball," Spaziani said of Adams' attributes.
"I like getting my teammates involved and making the right play," Adams said. "I like to score goals, too, but I like to get my teammates involved to do whatever's best for the team."
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Both Adams and Spaziani are now headed to the Division I ranks in college lacrosse.
Adams will attend Le Moyne College, where he hopes to study finance, while Spaziani is headed to Binghamton University, hopes to pursue studies in management and work in the pharmaceutical field one day.
"These guys have set the bar really high," Navarra said. "Losing 12 seniors and I think four or five of our top leading scorers, that's a lot to replace. But our JV and modified programs have done very well, along with our youth programs, and I thank those coaches and those parents who have kept the kids in these programs as well.
"Our coaches at those levels have done fantastic to prepare these kids for the next step.
"So guys are going to have to step up, no doubt, big shoes to fill. But we're definitely very confident about next year and in the next few years, no doubt."
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