Methuen’s Lucas Dambauskas, a longtime mentee of BES founder Carl Ashley, will play for Curry College next fall, where he will major in Criminal Justice.
“We are very excited to be adding Lukas to our 2025 class,” Curry Coach Dr. Sam Mendel said. “Lukas has a strong knowledge of the game and a physical presence that should help his transition to the college game. We know he will be successful both on and off the pitch with our program. We are looking forward to working with him.”
Coming off of a strong state tournament run, Dambauskas is excited to officially join the Milton campus. “When I went to see [Curry] it instantly clicked. I just felt like I was at home and I was at the right place.”
He credits his training with Carl Ashley as setting him on his college soccer journey. “I truly believe Carl is the reason why I’m going to college to play soccer. I mean, he’s made me so better through all the practices, all the strength and conditioning. He’s just made me such a better player. He’s gotten me in better shape, and he’s got my mind thinking more soccer.” Asked what differentiates Carl from other coaches, Lucas pointed to high energy training. “I mean he’s obviously just such a nice guy, but on the field, he’s hard on you so you don’t slip up. You know, you keep that energy. You can’t fall off, and just not listen.”
Dambauskas’ resilience and brotherhood with his teammates were memorable this season. Notably, he returned from injury while captaining the team to help preserve a16-game unbeaten streak. “We just stayed a family,” he said of Methuen’s 2024 success, “That’s why we were so good.”
His advice for younger players hoping to make it to college soccer? “I would just say, you can’t take any breaks,” Dambauskas noted. “You’ve got to go through every day knowing that you want to get to that final stage, which would be college soccer and I mean, you just can’t take anything for granted. You’ve got to make the most of every minute you’re on that field, whether it’s for club, for high school-no matter what it is. You just have to give it your 100%, every game.”
