Warriors control Beverly 11-3 in rematch of last year’s D2N Final

RYAN CHAMBERS came up with plenty of big stops as Wakefield’s defense shut down Beverly, 11-3 on Saturday. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

Published in the April 9, 2018 edition.

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

BEVERLY — The assumption is that when the schedule for the 2018 boys’ lacrosse season came out, the Wakefield Warriors immediately stared down an April 7 game against Beverly.

After the Panthers spoiled Wakefield’s perfect season with a gut-wrenching 6-5 game in last year’s Div. 2 North Final, who could blame the Warriors for imagining payback in the form of a win on Beverly’s home turf early in the season?

Except Wakefield head coach Andrew Lavalle doesn’t let his team think like that. It’s always about the next one.

BOBBY KEEGAN winds up for his first of four goals against Beverly, earning the nickname Bobby “Four Bombs” Keegan from head coach Andrew Lavalle. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)

“I think guys that were here last year, which is almost everybody, they talked about it and I think it was definitely on their minds, but it’s not something we were going to focus on because we don’t focus on the past,” said Lavalle. “The idea is that we want to focus on the future and that’s what we did today. It’s a new season, new players, new team; it’s about the next game, not about the last game.”

With that mentality, the Warriors thrived as they dominated on both sides of the field, and outscored the Panthers 6-0 in the fourth quarter to leave no doubt as they left town with a convincing 11-3 victory.

“Truly, it was a big team win, and it starts with the D side,” said Lavalle. “When we can rely on defensive guys like Cam Souza, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Ryan Chambers, that gives us enough time to lock and load.”

And loaded they were. Following the lead of four wicked rips from senior Bobby Keegan, two goals each from Ty Drago, Robert Guida and Ryan Fitzpatrick and one from Dan Kerrigan, and the Warrior offense matched the supremacy of their defense.

Wakefield got on the board first when Drago worked his way to the front of the net and buried a close chance with 7:46 left in the opening frame. Beverly tied it with 5:15 left, and started to put the pressure on Wakefield’s defense with long zone time, attempting to wear down the Warriors. Senior goalie Ryan Chambers came up with a great stop, lunging to his right immediately after the tying goal, but the Panthers eventually broke through with 1:17 left in the first, making it 2-1 after one.

It seemed inevitable that Beverly would get a two-goal lead as they continued to dominate possession to start the second quarter, but Wakefield’s defense held strong thanks to the likes of Fitzpatrick, Souza, and freshmen Mike and Matt Petitto.

“The Petitto brothers were everywhere,” said Lavalle. “I didn’t think we would have freshmen be able to step up and help us out as much as they did.”

During a timeout with 6:24 left in the second and the defense weathering the storm, Lavalle could be heard telling his time now was the time to make a play. Junior Thomas Harrington made it soon after, as he capitalized on a loose ball, made a big hit and recovered to send the offense on their way. With a man up, Guida put a left-handed shot past the goalie to tie it 2-2.

Fitzpatrick won the ensuing face-off and noticing that the Beverly defense didn’t want to stop the ball, “Fitzy” carried all the way in and gave the Warriors a quick 3-2 lead.

Wakefield’s offense then maintained possession for the next couple of minutes and after Wakefield called a timeout with the ball and 3:42 left in the half, the best-case scenario was if they could bleed the clock, score another one and head into the break with a two-goal lead.

That’s almost exactly how it played out, except Keegan’s first goal after a nice play complete with some crisp passing didn’t take long after the timeout, but Wakefield held on for the remaining three minutes and took a 4-2 lead into the break.

In the third, the defense again set the tone after getting through a man-down situation, and Keegan’s second goal, a laser that fit perfectly in the top right corner, seemed to really sting the Panthers. Beverly responded by upping the physicality and scoring their third goal to make it 5-3 with 6:27 left in the third. The Warrior defense killed another man down situation, fighting through some more chippy play to maintain a two-goal lead.

That display of toughness from the defense propelled the offense into a different stratosphere in the fourth, as the Warriors buried six unanswered goals. Guida made it 6-3, followed by Keegan, Kerrigan, another unassisted goal from Fitzpatrick after a similar face-off win, Drago and Keegan’s fourth to account for the 11-3 win.

“It’s just good to have a nice team win,” said Lavalle, who’s team is now 2-1 after a win against Triton to start the season followed by a 6-3 home loss against Winchester.

“It was a close one against Winchester, unfortunately we weren’t able to pull it out,” said Lavalle. “We couldn’t figure it out on the offensive side, but today we were able to do what we wanted to do offensively. Bobby ‘four-bombs’ Keegan was ready to rip, dodging well; Guida, another big, strong dodger, but it really started with the defense.”

As Wakefield continues to learn how to play while missing multiple key players who will be out for an extended period, this was a great way for the Warriors to see what they’re capable of this season. Wakefield travels to Reading tomorrow at 3:45 p.m.