Host MIAA first round game today
Published in the June 18, 2021 edition.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High boys’ lacrosse team concluded an epic run through the Middlesex League Tournament this week. The Warriors beat Lexington 9-6 in the quarterfinals before defeating rival Melrose 9-8 in overtime in the semifinals and making it to the championship game where they fell to undefeated Reading 16-4.
All three games occurred away from Landrigan Field but the 5th seeded Warriors will return home today at 4 p.m. when they host No. 12 North Reading in the first round of the Div. 2 North Tournament.
“The Middlesex League Tournament was a lot of fun,” said Wakefield head coach Tim Johnson. “Being able to compete in that type of atmosphere really warms you up for states as well. We grew a lot as a team.”
From Wakefield’s first regular season game against Melrose on May 31 to the championship game on June 14, they played three games against a previously undefeated Melrose team and one each against a strong Lexington squad and a state powerhouse Reading team. All except one regular season game against Melrose were played on the road.
“Those are five huge games in a short span,” said Johnson. “I thought they played very well, I’m really proud of them.”
The Warriors had a sluggish first half against Lexington in the quarterfinals and trailed by four goals at the break.
With 24 minutes to change their postseason story, the Warriors went to work.
Captain Max Dimella led the charge with five goals and an assist in this one. Maxx Brennan had a goal and an assist. Oliver Miller, Malcolm Burns and Jake Dubiel each added a tally while the defense held strong. Goalie Kaiden Johnson had 10 saves.
“We challenged the guys at halftime and just said ‘are we a championship caliber team? Do we have it within ourselves to get back into this?’”
The answer was a resounding yes. The Warriors made a few gameplan changes, most specifically locking down Lexington’s best player, midfielder Patrick Crogan, a Georgetown Lacrosse commit. It was a team effort but Wakefield specifically made sure one of Michael or Matthew Petitto was was ready to shut down Crogan. Michael will be playing lacrosse at Sacred Heart next year while Matthew is committed to the UMass Amherst lax team.
“We figured they might as well get used to defending D1 dodgers,” said Johnson with a laugh.
With the “Tito” brothers stepping up and Johnson making multiple key saves, Dimella and the offense took off.
Wakefield also put an emphasis on pressuring the Minutemen. The Warriors forced 12 turnovers as they threw a 10-man ride at the Lexington defense that was tough to handle.
“It was a huge comeback,” said Johnson. “We did it piece by piece, brick by brick. It was a huge character win and proof that we shouldn’t get down on ourselves. We proved that as a small school we can play with and beat any of these bigger schools who have quality teams year after year.”
That confidence carried over for the Warriors just two days later on June 12 when they got out to a fast start against Melrose, eventually leading 8-4. Even after the Red Raiders stormed back and tied it at 8-8, Wakefield stayed composed going into overtime where captain Jake Dubiel ended it with his second goal of the game. He also had two assists.
Dimella had two goals and four assists. Burns had three goals. Eric Keefe had a goal and an assist and Brennan added a tally.
Melrose beat Wakefield twice in the regular season, 17-8 on May 31 and 9-3 on June 7.
The defense set the tone by focusing on locking down Melrose playmaker Brendan Fennell which helped free up an extra defensemen to work on stopping Melrose’s many talented attackmen.
Wakefield also won the faceoff battle, getting 55 percent of the draws led by Bobby DeFeo who had 10 faceoff wins. Wakefield also connected on five of their eight man up opportunities.
“We gave them an chance to come back which was a learning experience but (Melrose) is a very talented team. We had a lot of momentum from the start that carried over. Melrose had to play from behind all day, even when it was a tie game it felt that way.”
It was Wakefield’s first win over Melrose since 2017.
The Warriors finally ran out of gas against Reading in a rainy championship game on Monday. They hung with the Rockets in the first quarter, trailing only by a score of 3-2.
Dimella’s first of two goals was a lefty ripper to tie it up 1-1. Wakefield later had another quick response to a Reading goal when Matthew Petitto made a great play to gain possession then found Dimella who got it out front to Oliver Miller to make it 2-2. It was a battle of elite athletes and smart lacrosse players.
The Rocket offense started to get it going in the second but Wakefield again stayed with them trailing 7-4 at halftime.
Miller found Brennan for a goal on a low shot and Johnson followed up with one of his 14 saves, this one being the save of the day, a physical stop, stepping up to cut off an angle and hold strong.
The Warriors got another geno from Dimella on a power move from behind the net, fighting through Reading’s physical long poles and finishing for an incredible goal.
Reading went to another level in the second half, scoring nine goals while shutting out the Warriors on their way to a Middlesex League Tournament title to go with their regular season championship.
The Warriors will look to get back in the win column in their first MIAA tournament game since the 2019 season. The Warriors beat Danvers in those playoffs before falling to eventual state champion Winchester.
