Tag Archives: MIAA Lacrosse

Jun 1 2012

Mass HS Lacrosse Recap: Duxbury 16, Framingham 3

By Hayden Bird

DUXBURY, MA — Duxbury high school varsity lacrosse made short work of Framingham on Friday afternoon in the first round of the Div. I state tournament, 16-3.

Coming off a bye during the preliminary round, Duxbury (20-2) showed no signs of what coach Chris Sweet worried about.

“I knew we’d have to shake off some rust, and we came out and just really delivered to start,” said Sweet.

The away team barely had time to get oriented in the game when they found themselves down 4-0.

With players like Sam Sweet, Seamus Connelly and Will Siefert pacing the offense, (all had multiple goals), there was little Framingham could do, overwhelmed by customary Duxbury precision.

“We looked sharp from the start, which is a good sign,” noted Sweet. “I was pleased.”

By halftime, the score had skyrocketed to 12-2.

Much of Duxbury’s advantage in the game could be tied to their dominance of face-offs. Henry Narlee helped the Dragons beat the Flyers to 12 out of 17 face-offs, igniting incessant attacks, which wore down the opposition.

After a frenetic opening two quarters, things settled down for a more languid second half.

Duxbury continued to play their regular players for a time, before giving way to the bench, though they still won the second half, 4-2.

The final score ended 16-3when it was over.

Sweet noted that part of the difficulty at this point for his star-laden team is not looking past early round opposition.

“I think part of the tradition here at Duxbury is that the seniors here know this time of year. You have to make some sacrifices and make smart choices,” explained Sweet.

And he also acknowledged the impressive crowd that turned up to watch.

“It’s playoff time here in Duxbury, and everyone gets excited,” said Sweet.

Yet he refuses, along with his team, to get carried away.

When asked how he thinks this current crop of skilled seniors will be remembered, he said quickly, “Ask me after the playoffs.”

“Hopefully,” he added breaking into a smile, “we make it to the state championship.”

May 31 2012

Mass High School Lax: Framingham 7, Marshfield 6 2OT

By Brian Willwerth 

MARSHFIELD, MA – Wednesday afternoon’s boy’s lacrosse tournament game between Marshfield and Framingham had everything you could want: tension, great plays, great goaltending, and a flair for the dramatic.

It wasn’t until 27 remained on the clock in the second overtime that the Flyers defeated the Rams, 7-6.

This was a game in which Framingham never trailed.  The Flyers got three goals from Joe Igoe and two more from Mike Stearns. The duo tallied quick scores in the third quarter after Marshfield had cut the lead to one. But once Framingham got its three-goal lead in the third quarter, the rest of the scoring in regulation belonged to the home team. The Rams scored once in the third and twice more in the fourth to tie the game at six.

The overtime periods were filled with tense play – with players fighting for loose balls left and right.  The flyers goal in the closing seconds of the second OT period sends them to the next round, where they’ll face top-seeded Duxbury on Friday.

May 17 2012

Mass High School Lax Recap: Wellesley Defeats Newton North

By Hayden Bird 

NEWTON, MA – Behind sharp defense and impressive goalkeeping, Wellesley high school’s boys lacrosse defeated Newton North on Wednesday, 7-0.

Wellesley (14-3) appeared to be the stronger team for a majority of the afternoon, but it was the home team, Newton North (11-4), which got the first effort on goal. Although, after the early nerves settled, it was the visitors from Wellesley, who opened the scoring behind midfielder Brian Pedersen.

Within minutes, the Raiders doubled their lead behind another midfielder by the name of Oliver Saffery, who executed a perfect catch and shoot into the lower third of the goal.

“I was really happy with our offense,” said Wellesley head coach Rocky Batty. “They did a couple of the things we’ve been working on for the last few weeks. They clicked a lot more.”

Yet it was Wellesley’s defense which accounted for much of the early success.

“I thought the defense played really well today,” noted Batty. “Guys were coming off the field tired, but that just meant they left it on the field. I thought the entire unit on the defense played big today.”

And even when Newton North managed to snipe a random shot, Wellesley goalie Connor Darcey was ready.

Darcey exhibited his customary versatility against Tigers throughout the game. Still, it was his work as a goalie, which made the difference.

Shot after Newton shot was turned away, and his distribution was well taken too, igniting counterattacks.

But Batty was quick to credit his defense as a whole.

“He is as valuable as the defense in front of him is, and that’s the reality. We weigh them all equally. Connor Darcy’s fantastic, he’ll tell you himself, but he sees shots he can save,” added Batty.

Right at the end of the half, Wellesley exhibited a great move that involved Pedersen, who found John Caraviello, who in-turn found attacker Peter Crane for the score.

The movement came so quickly and fluidly that Crane was nearly wide-open, and he predictably buried the ball in the net, leaving only nine seconds on the clock.

The second half began with renewed vigor from Newton North, who pelted Darcey with a series of shots.

“Newton North is a very, very good team,” said Batty. “They challenged us.”

Darcey, however, was more than up to the challenge, saving time and again.

Even when he turned the ball over after making a save, he immediately made yet another save.

By the end of the third quarter, Wellesley’s momentum was beginning strangle the game. Three goals came in quick succession from Kerry Lyne, Saffery and Pedersen.

The final quarter of play was quiet, with Crane adding one more to round out the scoring at 7-0 before the game ended.

“Were getting there” said Batty afterward. “We’re not there yet though.”

Apr 12 2012

Mass HS Lax Observations: Foxborough 12, Canton 4

Foxborough earned their second win of the 2012 season on Wednesday, as they defeated Canton, 12-4! (Photo Credit: Matt Noonan)

By Matt Noonan 

FOXBOROUGH, MA – Entering Wednesday’s match against Canton, Foxborough’s boy’s lacrosse team had one thing on their mind – erase the five-goal deficit from Tuesday. And luckily, they did, as the Warriors defeated the Bulldogs, 12-4, and earned their first Hockomock League victory.

“They’re a tough team, they’re good, they’re physical, [and] they’ve got a lot of good players,” said Canton head coach Bill Bendell. “We knew it was going to be a battle, but they outplayed us.”

Here are a few thoughts and reactions from this particular conference clash.

The Impact of Drew McGeary: It’s not too often that one player can spark a team’s offense, but against Canton’s defense, Foxborough’s Drew McGeary jumpstarted the Warriors attack with four goals.

“We just focused on getting the offensive possessions, and then we [were] just patient on offense, setting ball screens, away screens, just really mixing it up, staying in motion, [and] opening things up,” said McGeary.

And while the Bulldogs honed in on McGeary, they allowed two other Warriors – Tyler Ames, (two goals, one assist) and Jake Soccorso, (three goals, three assists) – to whip shots past Rich Nee, (four saves) for five combined tallies.

“Those [are] guys that I need to play at that level,” stated Foxborough head coach Matt Noone. “[On Wednesday] they did it, [but] I just hope they’ll do it against Franklin, I hope they’ll do it against Mansfield, [and] I hope they’ll do it against King Phillip.”

“Canton was a big game, they’re in our league and they’re [a] small school in our league and we’re a small school, so it’s nice to see them step up, but I need them to step up [against] the teams that are also a threat to us,” added Noone.

Foxborough entered the current campaign with a variety of new names on their varsity roster, which means Noone will need everyone to step up and contribute for the remainder of the 2012 season.

Avenging the Xaverian Bros. Loss: Against the Hawks on Tuesday, the Warriors Villanova-bound netminder Greg Stamatov allowed eight goals, while his teammates mustered three points, which wasn’t enough to beat Xaverian Bros.

“I told them that the best way to overcome a loss is going out on the field and winning,” added Noone.

The Warriors adhered to their coach’s advice on Wednesday, and rebounded with an impressive victory, which hopefully will propel them to a second consecutive win on Friday against Oliver Ames.

“We wanted to avenge the loss to Xaverian, and I thought we came out flying and we did our job,” said Soccorso.

Other Notes:

* Similar to last year, I really enjoyed watching Greg Stamatov defend the Warriors cage. He ended the contest with nine saves, but yielded three goals in the third quarter. And even though he was whistled for taking out his mouth guard in the third quarter, I definitely think he’ll continue to be a major factor for the Warriors this season.

* Canton only has two seniors on their team, so I’m expecting this particular year will be another learning experience for Bendell’s squad. However, against Foxborough, they did manage to record 40 ground balls and 23 shots on net.

* Foxborough has now beaten Canton 10 consecutive times, which is a rather impressive stat, eh? The last time the Bulldogs defeated the Warriors was in April of 2007.

* Finally, if Foxborough is going to be successful, they’ll need their midfield and attack to score numerous goals. Stamatov will do his part, but cannot save shots and score goals for the Warriors, so it’ll be interesting to see if Soccorso, Ames and McGeary can continue carry their offense.  

For more on this particular clash – check out the recap on BostonLax.net.