Lacrosse Teams Eying State Championship

The 2011 lacrosse season is underway for and the Wolverines will be looking to improve and strive for the State Championship this Spring.

The Westwood boys lacrosse team is coming off of a 12-10 season, and Coach Todd Zahurak said that his goal for 2011 is to come away with a State Championship. He said that the first step in improving is by working more as a team.

“This year’s team will have to work with and trust in one another to succeed,” said Zahurak.

Speed and depth are among the team's strengths, Zahurak said, adding that there are multiple offensive threats at his disposal. As for weaknesses, he noted that there is inexperience in goal.

Some players to look out for this year are Sean Condrick, Dave Von Eau, Mike Filbin, Shane Troy, Matt Hurley and Connor Murphy.

Zahurak has his team training hard at the fields every day at 3:30 p.m. He admits that it is a tough division, with Medfield and Dover-Sherborn being teams to be especially ready for. He also pointed out that the Wolverines have had close games with Holliston and Hopkinton during the past two years, with all four games decided by a single goal.

“Medfield and D-S are both perennial state contenders,” said Zahurak, who noted that Medfield is in Division 2 and Dover Sherborn is in Division 3. “Medfield is on a 100-plus game league winning streak. Historically, both are very strong programs within the state.”

The boys take on Ashland today at 3:45 p.m. at home. For the complete 2011 boys' schedule, click here.

Meanwhile, the girls team is coming off of an incredibly strong season, during which they went 23-1. But this year will be a little more difficult, as the team has lost nine seniors to graduation. Head Coach Leslie Frank said that it will be a re-building year, but there are still plenty of strengths on the team.

The girls hold great work ethic, Frank said, and are fit and full of grit. She said that another strength is the midfield, which caused several turnovers last season.

As for weaknesses, Frank noted that the team is young and that this year, they will need to be teaching new players their defense and offensive sets.

Key players to look out for are Sarah Biron, a senior midfielder who will be playing at Johns Hopkins next year; Emily McGrail, a senior midfielder who will play at Union College; and juniors Laura McHoul and Kate Rich.

Some of the opponents Westwood will be watching closely, according to Frank, include Lincoln-Sudbury, Medfield, Framingham, Needham and Duxbury. Framingham is last year’s state champion, and Lincoln-Sudbury was a North Division 1 finalist.

Medfield has a group of talented athletes, Frank added, such as Katie Ott, who will play at Boston University next year. Also, Needham was a south finalist, and Duxbury is a top 5 team in Division 2 South.

This year, Frank said that her goal as a team is “to play every game with intensity and focus on defense on both ends of the field.”

The girls take on Medfield at home Thursday at 3:45 p.m. For the complete 2011 girls schedule, click here.