Warriors take on Beverly for Div. 2 North crown tomorrow night
AUSTIN COLLARD, a senior (front), tallied five goals in Wakefield’s Div. 2 North semifinal win against Melrose. Collard also scored seven goals against Beverly in the regular season meeting at Landrigan Field. The Warriors and Panthers have a rematch in the sectional final at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School. (Donna Larsson Photo)
Published in the June 9, 2017 edition.
By JIM SOUTHMAYD
CONCORD — The Wakefield Memorial High boys’ lacrosse team has accomplished many achievements in the past few years including league titles and most victories in a single season. However winning a sectional title would be a first for the Warriors.
Wakefield finds Beverly standing in its way of securing its first ever Div. 2 North championship as the two teams are scheduled to meet in the Div. 2 North final tomorrow night at 6 p.m. at Concord-Carlisle Regional High School.
The top-seeded Warriors (20-0) routed Malden Catholic by a 19-3 score in the quarterfinals and then held off rival Melrose (12-11) in the semifinals to gain a berth in the North title game.
Beverly, the third-ranked team with a 12-9 record, enters the game having defeated Shawsheen Tech by a 13-4 tally in the quarterfinals and then having upset second-seeded Winchester by a 12-11 score in the semifinal game on Tuesday at Knowlton Stadium in Winchester.
This is the fourth straight Div. 2 North final appearance for the Panthers.
The two teams aren’t unfamiliar with each having played a non-league game on Thursday, May 18 at Landrigan Field. Wakefield won that game by an 18-8 score.
In that regular season meeting, Wakefield was challenged by the Panthers for one quarter. However the Warriors held the Panthers to one goal in the second quarter and none in the final frame as they cruised to the 18-8 triumph.
The Warriors trailed 2-0 in the first quarter, but easily erased that deficit. Wakefield led 9-4 after the first half of play. Wakefield never looked back as it defeated yet another state tournament qualifier by double digits.
Austin Collard, a senior, led the way for Wakefield as he scored seven goals.
The Warriors and Panthers were tied after one quarter, but Beverly only scored once in the second frame and was blanked in the final period.
Kyle Chouinard and Nick DiLuiso each had three goals for Beverly, which also got a goal and an assist from Matt Rawding, a goal from Donny O’Connor, and two helpers from Sam Abate.
But that was then and this is now.
Beverly cruised against the Rams, but came up big on the road against Winchester in the North semifinals.
In that contest, Abate scooped up a ground ball in the Winchester zone and, with the Sachems’ goaltender out of position, rocketed a shot from 35 feet out into the empty net with just 1:49 to play, giving Beverly the rousing 12-11 victory.
The goal, Abate’s fourth of the contest and team leading 52nd goal (and 72nd point) of the season, moved the Panthers back into the sectional title game.
It was a day of sweet revenge for the Panthers, who not only dropped their season opener to the Sachems on the road but also fell against them in last year’s Div. 2 North final.
In a contest that featured six ties and five lead changes, the Panthers not only got the decisive goal, but also ran out the clock in the final minute. The patience that they used the entire way, both in setting up their offense and keeping it away from Winchester’s dangerous array of scorers, worked out exactly as they’d hoped.
Senior captain and goaltender Kevin Morency, made nine saves in net.
Victories such as that required several players to step up for Beverly. Junior midfielder Dakota Lillelund was one of those players that stepped up. He played the best game of his high school career by scoring once, assisting on two others and playing like a defensive demon in scooping ground balls and in transition.
Lillelund’s ground ball recovery and ensuing footwork just inside the left sidelines before cutting to the net and feeding DiLuiso (two goals) for a strike was a thing of beauty.
Kevin Flaherty, a captain, won four straight face-offs in the fourth quarter and captured 16-of-28 draws in the game, a key to the Orange and Black maintaining that much sought after possession of the ball. He also added a goal and an assist as well.
Chouinard contributed two goals and an assist. Chris Cole and Rawding also scored. Defenders Johnny Jones, Justin Loreti, Connor Cadmartori and freshman Braeden Pratt were in lockdown mode when it mattered most. Morency also turned in a number of key stops, none better than when he literally dove out of his net moving forward to snag a fourth quarter blast with his team up one.
Jim LaSelva, the former Panther great and one-time assistant coach, is now in his first year as Beverly’s head coach.
The winner of tomorrow night’s game advances to the Div. 2 state semifinal game which will be played against the Div. 2 South champion on a day, time, and venue to be determined. The site will be somewhere in the South section of Eastern Massachusetts.
The Div. 2 South final is being held tonight at Marshfield High School at 7 p.m. Top-ranked Hingham (20-3) takes on third-seeded Bishop Feehan (16-4).
