Sam Futrovsky has a unique approach to a season as coach of the Sewickley Academy boys lacrosse team.
“We have a mantra and read a book together throughout the course of the season,” he said. “This year, the mantra is ‘TNT goes BOOM.’ This one has two parts, where for us TNT means being elite at the parts of the game that Take No Talent and BOOM stands for Brothers On One Mission.
“We are building a brotherhood, and we have to show up and build it every day. We say that some days we move a little dirt and other days we move huge piles, but as long as we are moving dirt, we are moving in the right direction.”
The Sewickley players are reading the book entitled, ‘The Hero Code,’ written by Admiral William H. McRaven.
“It provides 10 lessons in character and leadership development,” Futrovsky said. “We tie those lessons back into the program and into our daily lives because we believe that better people make better players. We are fully committed to helping these kids grow off the field because we know the positive impact it will have on them on the field and further down the road in life.”
The 2026 season already has proven to be divergent for the Panthers. It is the first time in three years that there are seniors on the team.
The upperclassmen consist of midfielder Luca Peluso, LSM/D Blake Wilmot and defender Jack Carlson.
“Luca Peluso is a do-it-all midfielder who leads by example,” Futrovsky said, “and makes tough plays all over the field.”
Wilmot is a three-sport athlete in high school. Along with lacrosse, he has competed in soccer at Sewickley and played football at Moon. He was a kicking specialist for the Tigers, who advanced to the WPIAL Class 5A semifinals and finished 9-4 last season.
“This is easily the strongest team I’ve played with during my time with this lacrosse program,” Wilmot said. “We have a really talented group, and I think we have the potential to have a very successful season and turn some heads along the way.”
Wilmot recently committed to continue his football career at Denison and said he is interested in possibly being a walk-on candidate on the men’s lacrosse team.
“I started playing lacrosse at age 6,” he said. “Coming from Philadelphia, lacrosse was a tradition in my family.”
There are 12 juniors on the squad, consisting of attackers Jack Bruno and Jake Bloom; midfielders Rocco Moschetta, Eli Stephan (FOS), Jake Donesec, Gregory Chiusano, Mason Baker and Max Soderstrom (LSM); defenders Paci Bonham, Giovanni DeBellis and Andrew Windsor; and goalkeeper Quinn Lee.
Sophomore team members include two midfielders, Caden Weinreich and Ahmed Wahdan, and two defenders, Foster Zhao and Matt Bruno.
Top freshman prospects include attacker Maxwell Magan, midfielders Vinny Truesdell and Kurt Schielke, and goalie Haden Haley.
“We’ve returned practically everyone,” Futrovsky said. ”Our staff has a pretty strong idea of what personnel we have, what our strengths are, and where we can improve. One thing we are happy with is how quickly our guys are picking up some new concepts. We have added a couple new players to the program and they have been brought into the fold very fast.
“We have a new assistant on staff who is also our defensive coordinator. Kris Alleyne comes to us from RMU where he spent the past five years as their defensive coordinator. He is doing a fantastic job teaching and connecting with our players. Coach Alleyne has brought a ton of energy and expertise to that side of the ball, and it is amazing to see how well the boys are picking up on our new systems.”
Alleyne has joined Vincent Biolsi and T.J. Reisdorf on the Sewickley coaching staff.
The Panthers’ starting lineup changes from game to game based on personnel, opponent, scouting report, etc. It has mainly been a mix of the following: Jack Bruno, Bloom and Magan at the attack position; Peluso, Donesec and Truesdell at midfield.
“Our faceoff man, Eli Stephan, also is a first-line midfielder for us, as well,” Futrovsky said.
Soderstrom holds the LSM position, while the defenders down low are Wilmot, DeBellis and Matt Bruno. Haley is the starting goalkeeper.
“Our expectations are to keep improving every day,” Futrovsky said. “We talk about our values, our REPS, (Respect, Effort, Passion and Selflessness) all the time. We do not focus on outcomes, rather we emphasize doing the work, acting with honor, and playing with purpose.
“We believe if we execute every rep and turn our values into action, the results with take care of themselves.”
Thanks to a 10-2 record and third-place finish in Section 2, Sewickley landed the No. 5 seed in the WPIAL Class 2A playoffs last year.
The Panthers started out with five consecutive wins and ended with an 8-2 record in section play, finishing behind only Mars (10-0) and Hampton (9-1).
Sewickley’s season ended with a 7-4 loss to Chartiers Valley in the first round of the playoffs. The Panthers advanced to the postseason with a team comprised of three freshmen, 12 sophomores and four juniors.
“Last year, our program took a large step forward and earned a chance to compete in the playoffs, where we ultimately fell short,” Futrovsky said. “This year, we want to earn that chance again and make sure we do everything in our control to make this journey go as long as possible.”
Sewickley outscored the opposition 135-69 during the 2025 regular season and held opponents to under 10 goals in all 10 of its victories. The Panthers averaged 11.3 goals per game.
This year, Sewickley started out 3-0, averaging 15 goals per game, before losing a 16-5 decision March 28 to The Heights School from Potomac, Md.
The Panthers’ three victories were against Linsley School, Moon and Key School, which is located in Annapolis, Md.