Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Vincent Lazzaro’s junior season in 2025 didn’t get off to a dream start. The Christian Brothers Academy lacrosse midfielder sat out the first half of its second game against Skaneateles. He scored three times in the second half, but the Brothers lost by two.

It was a less-than-ideal beginning to a year Lazzaro needed to go his way. He needed to break out if he wanted any chance to garner attention from college coaches. Lazzaro had been strong in his two previous seasons at the varsity level, having 30-goal campaigns in both. But they weren’t enough to get looks from schools.

After the Skaneateles game, he went on a tear for the rest of the season. Lazzaro averaged over two-and-a-half goals per game and scored 53 times. He added 18 assists to bring his season total to 71 points. Lazzaro’s stellar season helped him earn a commitment to Merrimack in June.

But Lazzaro had an unorthodox journey to committing, he said. He started on Chittenango High School’s varsity team as an eighth grader in 2022, where he developed his shooting abilities with help from captain Brendon Barnard.

However, it was clear to both Lazzaro and his father, Justin Lazzaro, that if he wanted to make it to the next level, he needed to change schools. Chittenango simply didn’t have the cast to support Lazzaro’s talent.

“It was clear he was gonna be the alpha, and when there’s one or two guys on a team, you can’t win games,” Lazzaro’s club coach and CBA assistant Michael Holdridge said. “Moving to CBA has enabled Vince to become the player he always wanted to be.”

Transferring schools meant Lazzaro couldn’t play varsity lacrosse his freshman year, but he spent a valuable year on junior varsity instead. He was the captain of the JV team, which taught him to lead — a skill that’s become a major part of his lacrosse journey.

“I definitely saw those lessons he learned come through this spring,” Justin said, “He wasn’t a captain, but he was still one of those guys that the younger class gravitated towards.”

Vincent Lazzaro helped Christian Brothers Academy win a sectional championship. Before he heads to Merrimack, he wants CBA to win a state title. Courtesy of Justin Lazzaro

While at CBA, Lazzaro’s also found success in football and wrestling. The only problem was that Lazzaro, who stands at 5-foot-8, is too small for football, especially for his position as a lineman. And as much as he said he enjoyed wrestling, he started late and never had time to perfect his craft, so he decided to focus on lacrosse for his senior year. Still, both sports have helped round out his skillset.

“The aggression and competitiveness he’s gotten from football have been huge for him,” Justin said.

Still, Lazzaro didn’t receive any recruiting attention in lacrosse until after his junior season. That initially put pressure on him to perform. But with his passion for the game, he seamlessly worked through it, he said.

With his 71-point campaign, Lazzaro was a focal point of a CBA team that won 16-of-20 games, won a sectional championship and made it to the state semifinals, where they lost to Canandaigua High School.

“Even though I felt like there was so much pressure on me going into last season, playing just felt like therapy for me,” Lazzaro said of his breakout season.

He was rewarded for his efforts when Merrimack came calling in June. For Lazzaro, it was the perfect fit. He wanted a place where he could play immediately, and not sit on the bench until his junior or senior year.

The Warriors possess a young core and face a high level of competition, giving Lazzaro a place where he can shine. As Lazzaro enters his senior year, he still wants to build upon his breakout campaign.

“I want to go out with a bang, and I want to improve on our sectional championship from last year,” Lazzaro said.

Published on September 16, 2025 at 10:03 pm
Contact Jack: jwood20@syr.edu | @JackWood_55