On Wednesday, March 30th, Anthony Peruso earned his first victory as a Cougar. In his first game of his first season as East boys Varsity Lacrosse Head Coach, Peruso led the team to a 10-8 second half comeback win over Eastern Regional High School.

“It was great,” Peruso said of the experience. “We were down 4-2 at the half… I told everyone to just keep their minds positive.” His advice certainly seems to have had the desired effect, exemplified by the Cougars’ two goals scored in the beginning of the second half to tie the score.

Peruso described seeing the team’s “electricity [turn] on,” in the game’s second half as they battled back from their previous score deficit. “I wasn’t nervous at all,” Peruso said. “I had all the confidence in my team. They’re very skilled and they handle pressure really well.”

After starting the season off with a 1-0 record, Peruso, his assistant coach and brother, John, and the rest of the team seek to build off of their success through continued victories over rival teams. In his first time seeing his team perform in a higher-stakes game setting, Peruso said he gained more valuable insight on the extent of the players’ perseverance and dedication. Throughout the entire game, he said, “they never put their heads down. They never gave up.”