Warriors host Shawsheen Tech in rematch of an April meeting
By DAN BYRNE
WAKEFIELD— The Wakefield Memorial High School varsity boys’ lacrosse team will host Shawsheen Valley Tech in its opening postseason tournament
game this Friday at 5 p.m. at Landrigan Field in a Div. 2 North quarterfinal game.
The Rams defeated Northeast Metro Tech on Wednesday by a 16-4 final score to earn a second round matchup with the Warriors. The first round tourney game was postponed twice before being played yesterday in Billerica.
Wakefield (14-4) is the second ranked team in the 11-team Div. 2 North Field while Shawsheen (12-7) is seeded seventh. Northeast (8-7) was the 10th-seeded team.
Wakefield defeated Shawsheen on April 25 with a dominant 17-1 performance. So the two teams know each other quite well.
In the game earlier this season, the Warriors got six goals from junior attacker Brandon Grinnell.
Along with Grinnell, eight other Warriors scored as the Rams were overmatched on the field that day.
The highlight of the game came at the start of the third quarter when defensive leader Steve Marino scored a goal after winning the face-off while down two men.
During the second quarter, freshman goalie Ryan Chambers took over in net for senior Alex Flynn. Despite his lack of experience, Chambers impressed and the Rams couldn’t manage to score the goals to come back.
No doubt Friday the Rams will be tasked with beating Wakefield’s veteran goalie, Flynn.
It’s a game that should be no problem for the Warriors, as they finished the regular season at the top of the Middlesex League Freedom Division with a 9-2 record in its first season under head coach Andrew Lavalle.
Coach Lavalle has said all season he believes in three P’s, those being Passion, Preparation and Performance.
So far, the Warriors have expressed their passion in their preparation for the moment the game begins Friday.
When the whistle blows to begin the game they will have the chance to perform and show what kind of team they have been able to become throughout the season.
“The last piece is their performance,” Lavalle said. “That’s where we’re willing to show that passion and that’s where we want to show that preparation.”
Friday will be the Warriors chance to put it all on display but they’ll need to be on point as the Rams have already aced their first test in the post season. Wakefield also has to avoid any kind of overconfidence. Despite crushing the Rams earlier in the season, this is the state tournament and Shawsheen will be fired up to try to upset the Warriors.
The unforgiving tournament could come to an untimely end should things not go the Warriors’ way on Friday. However, with their core of senior leaders and plethora of young, promising, talented players at nearly every position on the field, the Warriors have what it takes to make a strong tournament run.
Should Wakefield advance then it will play the winner of a quarterfinal game between third-ranked Marblehead (13-6) and sixth-seeded Burlington (12-7). That quarterfinal game is tonight in Marblehead at 5 p.m. Burlington advanced to the quarterfinals with an 18-1 rout of Greater Lowell in the first round.
