THE SENIORS left it all on the field for the Warriors, not just in 2022 but throughout their lacrosse careers. Pictured from left to right with their families is James Buckley, Joey O’Brien, Jonathan Guida, Dan Mailhoit, Leo Yardumian, Jake Dubiel and Donovan Foley. (File Photo)
LONGMEADOW — The Wakefield High boys’ lacrosse team knew they had a monumental task at hand after their 13-10 victory over Melrose in the first round of the D2 state tournament on June 9.
On Saturday, the No. 16 Warriors traveled to No. 1 Longmeadow for a Round of 16 matchup. The Lancers, who finished their regular season at 17-1, are playing like a team on a mission this postseason, one year after falling to Concord-Carlisle 11-10 in the ’21 D2 state championship game.
Longmeadow played a complete game, topping Wakefield by a score of 19-5. The Lancers went on to beat No. 8 North Attleboro 20-3. They will play No. 5 Reading in the state semifinals on Saturday, 2 p.m. at Medway High.
SENIOR CAPTAIN Leo Yardumian provided great defense and strong clears as a midfielder all season for the Warriors. (File Photo)
“I will say this about Long- meadow, they are a tremendously talented team in every position and they’re deep at all positions,” said Wakefield head coach Tim Johnson. “They have two Div. 1 commits with at least six to eight more playing D2 and D3 college ball. They play great team lacrosse and have a coach- ing staff that keeps them at a high level of competition.”
The Warriors, typical of their team identity, made it clear to Longmeadow early that a victory would need to be earned. Wakefield was down 5-2 after one quarter with growing confidence that they could stick with the top seed.
The second quarter, however, started ominously for the locals with a one minute, locked-in penalty for an illegal stick and the Lancers put two away to break that confidence.
“The score isn’t indicative of the quality of play that was on that field but ultimately, they were just too strong,” said Johnson of Longmeadow.
Wakefield was not without highlights in this one.
Their most impressive goal came on a fast break, starting with junior Bobby DeFeo who swiftly won the face-off and passed to junior John Regan who made a behind the back dish to senior Donovan Foley. Foley skipped it across the crease to junior Joe Colliton for the goal.
“Tic-tac-toe just like we planned it,” said the coach with a smile.
BOBBY DeFEO had another strong game at the face-off X against Longmeadow in the state tournament on Saturday. The junior dominated face-offs and provided plenty of offense for the Warriors throughout the season. (File Photo)
It was the type of quick strike offense that the Warriors executed so well against the Red Raiders in round one – something that can’t happen unless you have success on face-offs.
“Bobby DeFeo had a terrific game at the face-off X,” said Johnson. DeFeo’s determination mirrored that of the entire team.
“Everyone who stepped onto that field played hard every second. A coaching staff can’t ask for much more than that.”
Wakefield’s 2022 season ended with an overall record of 15-5. The Warriors will carry with them multiple positive memories from the season including exciting, one-goal wins over Lynnfield, Wilmington and Melrose – three games in a row that were a part of Wakefield’s eight-game winning streak early in the season. The Warriors played league powerhouses Winchester (4-1, final), Lexington (11-9) and Reading (8-6) close and had quality non-conference wins over Danvers (10-6) and Masconomet (8-3).
“For our season, I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” said Johnson. “We showed that we are consistently becoming a high-level program in the ML12 with highly competitive games against the typical league powerhouses of Lexington, Winchester, Melrose and Reading.
JOE COLLITON scored Wakefield’s best goal of the game against Longmeadow in the Round of 16 on Saturday, a play that included a face-off win from Bobby DeFeo, a behind-the-back pass by John Regan and an assist from Donovan Foley. (File Photo)
“It’s a very bright future for this program especially with our very talented incoming freshman class.”
That bright future will also belong to the Class of 2022’s six boys’ lax seniors who dedicated so much to the team over the last few years filled with pandemic-uncertainty.
“The six seniors have been a rock for us and our underclassmen,” Johnson said of captains Jake Dubiel and Leo Yardumian; Foley, Danny Mailhoit, Jonathan Guida and Joey O’Brien. “Not having their sophomore season is hard because they develop so much during that time but they came into their junior season and really stepped up to support the seniors last year and they pushed us to be successful now in two seasons. It’s a great trend to have that happen because it grows a program.
“The six of them were all leaders that the underclassmen looked up to. I wish them all great success with their future endeavors.”
