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Mr. 500: Coach O'Reilly hits incredible milestone

Saturday, May, 07 By Kyle Gaudette

DERRY — There are not many boys lacrosse coaches throughout the country that have reached the 500-win milestone. In fact now there are only 14.

Pinkerton earned an 11-9 victory over Longmeadow, Massachusetts to remain at an undefeated 12-0 on Saturday, and in the process gave head coach Brian O'Reilly win number 500 in his tenure with the Astors. 

"The years just run together," said a smiling O'Reilly. "We have great teams year after year. We get great players, brothers, and families. You don't get to this milestone unless it is year after year with the teams, and we've just gotten great players. No one who watched this game today thought it was about coaching. We have talent everywhere, and we will continue to have talent thanks to the great youth programs." 

This season is year number 36 that O'Reilly has been the Astros head coach. To add some perspective on just how consistently good O'Reilly's teams have been, you can divide 500 wins by the 36 years coaching to get an average of 14 wins per season - the regular season schedule is only 18 games long without including postseason. But even taking playoff wins out of the mix, he is still averaging double-digit wins a season.

Overall, O'Reilly boast a 500-137 all-time record which is good for a .785 winning percentage. O'Reilly is the fourteenth coach to reach the 500-win milestone nationally, but he is the first in the Massachusetts-New Hampshire area. 

"I didn't know that," said O'Reilly. "All the guys I started with are mostly retired now. I still see them around, but yeah I started young and I'm still alive. And that's ultimately what it comes down to."

"He cares about every single player he has," said senior tri-captain James Tulley. "He genuinelly cares about anyone who puts on that jersey or just helps out the team in any way. He makes you feel important, and he gets you involved in everything."

To get win number 500, Pinkerton had to defeat a Longmeadow team that was ranked No. 11 in Massachusetts by ESPN Boston. Tulley scored a team-high 5 goals for Pinkerton, while goalie Alex Sturgess made 9 clutch saves in net.

The Astros took a 6-4 lead into halftime, and were able to expand it to a three-goal cushion at 9-6 midway through the fourth quarter. Longmeadow fought back late and made it a one-goal game at 9-8 with just under three minutes to go.

Tulley, however, refused to see his team's hard-fought lead slip away. He took an inbound pass and juked his way through four defenders before diving under a fifth and firing it into the back of the net. The goal pushed the lead back up to two, and gave the Astros the confidence they needed to close out the win.

"I had the goal in sight and I saw the second slide coming," said Tulley. "I knew if I ducked under the defender I would get my hands free. That's why I love to practice those close, roll-in shots. I'm a basketball player. I can't shoot from twenty-yards away, but I can roll in and dunk."

The Astros had another strong performance from sophomore goalie Alex Sturgess. Just before Tulley bullied his way through five defenders to put the Astros up two, Sturgess got down to stop a bullet with his stick that would have tied the game. 

"Alex made all of the difference today," said O'Reilly. "In a game like this where it can go either way, it all comes down to goaltending. He's just an awesome kid."

The quest for win 501 starts Monday at 4 p.m. with a home matchup against Souhegan.

While the years are starting to blend togehter for O'Reilly, his impact on Pinkerton lacrosse is perhaps greater than any of his 500 wins.

"He's is more of a father-figure to all of us," said Tulley. "He's connected with us on different levels, and is really more of a mentor. He's a teacher in the classroom and a teacher on the field."