Wolverines Advance to State Title Game

At halftime, it looked like a cakewalk, but in the end it was a classic.

The Lincoln-Sudbury girls lacrosse outscored Westwood 7-2 in the second half, but it wasn’t enough, as the Wolverines were able to hold on and defeat the Warriors 11-9 to win the Eastern Massachusetts Division 1 title Monday at Babson College.

The Wolverines will play the winner of Tuesday's game between Algonquin and Longmeadow Friday night in Worcester for the state championship.

“It feels really good,” Westwood senior Kate Rich said. “I’m really proud of the girls for hanging in there and pulling out a win.”

Rich had a pair of goals in the first half and played a key role in Westwood’s domination of the first 25 minutes.

The Wolverines won almost every faceoff and controlled the ball for the majority of the half. Westwood was able to get 12 shots on goal, and nine found a home in the back of the net. Senior Laura McHoul netted all three of her goals in the first half, and sophomore Ela Hazar scored three of her game-high five goals in the opening period.

Westwood was able to hold Lincoln-Sudbury scoreless for a stretch of 20:45.

“I think that we were able to click at the beginning and move the ball well,” Hazar said. “It feels great, but we still have another game so I can’t say anything yet.”

Hazar scored 11 seconds into the second half, but something clicked for Lincoln-Sudbury after that, and the Warriors rallied.

The Warriors outscored Westwood 7-1 the rest of the game, but several costly turnovers allowed the Wolverines to cling to their lead.

“The girls had a great second half and we had our opportunities,” Lincoln-Sudbury coach Debbie DeJesus said. “Westwood killed us on the draw and that’s basically what won the game for them.”

The Warriors were led by senior co-captain Rachel Sexton, who scored three of her team-high four goals in the second half. DeJesus was glowing in her praise for Sexton and the team as a whole.

“I’m never going to be able to replace her,” DeJesus said of Sexton. “I’ve enjoyed every second I’ve had coaching her; she’s just an awesome player. The girls’ slogan for the season was ‘make it count’, and that’s how they took every practice and every day. It’s been a real pleasure coaching these girls.”

Junior Abby Quirk showed the future was still bright for Lincoln-Sudbury, adding three goals of her own. Senior Megan Griffin added a goal and an assist for the Warriors.

The Warriors closed the scored to 11-8 with over 12 minutes remaining, but the Wolverine defense held strong and surrendered only one goal the rest of the game.

“We sort of lost confidence,” Westwood coach Leslie Frank said of her team’s second half performance. “Whatever the turning point was I just saw everyone on attack freak; luckily defense held us in.”

After a short celebration to savor the victory, it was all business for Westwood. Rich emphasized that there was still one more game left before the trophies were awarded.

“It feels really good, but we’ve been there before,” Rich said. “I’m sure the opponent has been there before too. Hopefully we can pull out win; we’re going to go hard.”