Xavier Michaud is one of the top players for the Oak Hill boys lacrosse team.

But as he showed this season, he’s more than just stats.

With a squad that included new talent on offense, Michaud sacrificed (some) personal success for the greater good. Instead of being the team’s immediate goal-scorer, he became like a point guard in basketball, distributing the ball to multiple scorers. The move paid off, with the Raiders finishing the regular season with a 12-0 record, before falling in the Class C playoffs.

For his efforts, Michaud is the Morning Sentinel and the Kennebec Journal Boys Lacrosse Player of the Year.

After transferring to Oak Hill from St. Dominic, Michaud had an outstanding transition season with the Raiders, who finished the 2018 season with a 9-4 record and a trip to the playoffs. Entering this season, Michaud found out quickly that his role in the offense had a slight change.

“My junior year, I thought my role was to put the ball in the back of the net,” Michaud said. “And I realized quickly (this season) that it wasn’t the way it was going to be, because I had two other talented attackmen with me, and a lot of good midfielders that knew how to play offense, too. My role this year, I thought, was to be more of a quarterback for the offense, and run our offense the way that I wanted to see it happen. Obviously, it worked out pretty well.”

Indeed, it did turn out to be a success. Michaud scored 47 goals and had 23 assists, as the Raiders fought their way to a perfect regular season.

Oak Hill head coach Joe Hinckley said he expected a big season out of Michaud.

“He started off the season very well,” Hinckley said. “(The team) named him a captain this year. From that point forward, he just took over. On the field, he was the man to watch, and the man to stop. A lot of teams couldn’t stop him. He’s shown this year that playing extra lacrosse, travel (team) stuff, really shows.”

Summer lacrosse is how Michaud was initially attracted from making the switch from St. Dom’s to Oak Hill after his sophomore year.

“My freshman year, we went 0-12 at St. Dom’s,” Michaud said. “My sophomore year, we went 1-11. I transferred to Oak Hill, we had a winning record both junior and senior year. I played summer (lacrosse) with a lot of the kids from Oak Hill, and got a lot of encouragement to come over and play with them. I already knew a big group of the kids from playing summer lacrosse with them, so the transition was good.”

Michaud credits his work as a goalie during hockey season as part of the reason for his success on a lacrosse field.

“I think I’m a pretty good inside finisher,” Michaud said. “I like to use my teammates, I think I’ve got good vision on the field. I think that comes from my background of being a goalie in hockey. I can see the whole ice in hockey, that’s sort of how I feel in lacrosse.”

Not only were his on-field skills standing out, but Hinckley also pointed out Michaud’s work ethic, and his willingness to help his teammates.

“He was always willing to help out younger kids,” Hinckley said. “He was always the first one on the field. He would show up every day, almost an hour before practice, bringing his own balls out there for about 30 minutes…That started pushing off to the younger kids, the younger kids were like ‘Wow, we need to start doing the same thing.’ He’s always wanting to get better.”

Michaud’s lacrosse career is not over. His career will continue at St. Joseph’s College in Standish next year, while he works on a degree in business and sports management.

“I think it’s a good school for me, to go play some lacrosse and do good academically as well,” Michaud said.

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