Winchester Lacrosse Season Comes to an End

The boys Lacrosse team defeated the by a score of 6-5 on Tuesday, advancing them to the semi-finals of the 2011 MIAA Boys Lacrosse East Division 2 State Tournament.

A back and forth game throughout, the winner was decided in the final 1:44 of the game when Midfielder Karl Weller completed a full field counterattack that netted Hingham’s sixth goal.

A relieved Head Coach John Todd said, “We were lucky. They (Sachems) are one of the best coached teams in the state. They came in with a great game plan, stuck to it, and took advantage of our mistakes.”

While No. 3 Hingham (16-4) won the game’s initial face-off and maintained possession in their offensive half for the first two full minutes of play, it would be the sixth-seeded Sachems (12-5) that would strike first when Jesse Samlek scored after five minutes of play.

The Sachems acted quickly to begin the second quarter as well with an early shot by Brendan Kelley that found the bottom left corner of the net. This would be his first of three goals on the game.

Within the next five minutes, Hingham completely shifted the game’s control, scoring three quick goals to gain the lead. Kevin Blair, Tim Driscoll, and David Freitas each consecutively netted one to give the Harbormen the 3-2 lead at halftime.

The third quarter saw each team exchange a pair of goals. After Kelley scored his second of the game for Winchester forcing a tie score, Driscoll responded with a second goal of his own, coming from half field.

The Harbormen held the 5-4 lead entering the fourth quarter, but the Sachems gathered for the loudest huddle of the day. Their tying goal came three minutes into the quarter, and gave them seemingly verbal and physical momentum.

While Weller’s late goal quickly quieted the Sachems bench, it erupted the wooden stadium at .

After the game ended, Sachems Head Coach John Pirani said, “I want the message to our younger kids to be that hard work and teamwork yield a great result.”