DANVERS — For a decade, St. John’s Prep had hopelessly looked for a Div. 1 boys lacrosse championship. That arduous chase lastly got here to a halt final season, when the Eagles took dwelling the title with an epic victory over Catholic Conference rival BC High on Glatz Field final July.
Déjà vu.
Outside of a slight hiccup (an 8-4 loss to Acton-Boxboro on April 16) and an out-of-state defeat by the hands of Staples (CT) (an endowment sport), the Eagles primarily ripped by way of their newest common season slate like a sizzling knife by way of butter. Now, St. John’s Prep finds itself in a really acquainted place, and the chatter a few potential repeat has slowly gone from a collection of distant whispers to a really pronounced echo across the Danvers campus.
St. John’s Prep (17-1) will lean closely on its six Catholic Conference All-Star choices, most notably Jimmy Ayers, Chris Esposito, Connor Kelly, Tommy Sarni, Jake Vana and Charlie Wilmot.
For weeks on finish, gamers, coaches and fogeys alike collectively tried to determine how the MIAA’s components performed into the place their favourite groups have been seeded. At the tip of the day, the Eagles took the highest seed within the discipline, adopted so as by Lincoln-Sudbury, BC High and Hingham. These faculties instantly leap out as potential candidates to knock off St. John’s Prep this month. However, don’t be shocked for those who occur to see packages reminiscent of Acton-Boxboro or Concord-Carlisle start to make noise as nicely.
As of proper now, there are two clear favorites atop the Div. 2 discipline, beginning with Western Mass. powerhouse Longmeadow (17-1). Last season, the Lancers made a visit to the title sport, solely to drop an 11-10 heartbreaker to Concord-Carlisle. Sure, the Patriots could have moved as much as the Div. 1 ranks coming into this season, however one other star-studded program stepped into their place.
In previous years, Duxbury had perennially opted as much as the Div. 1 scene, however the brand new alignment has the Dragons in Div. 2 the place they are going to be an element. The Dragons (14-4) have been powered all season lengthy by Delby Lemieux (60 targets, 10 assists) and Campbell Pang (26 targets, 17 assists). Brady Glass (25 targets, 22 assists) has additionally emerged as a main scoring choice for Duxbury, and figures to play a key function as soon as the event will get underway.
Other groups to observe within the Div. 2 discipline embody Billerica, Reading and Scituate. Don’t be shocked if Nashoba enters the dialog as nicely. The Wolves did simply full an ideal common season, and captured the CMADA Class A championship in any case.
Most specialists would instantly peg Medfield because the staff to beat in Div. 3. Understandable, for certain. The Warriors (15-3) characteristic a roster boasting 26 seniors. After sustaining some bumps and bruises early on within the marketing campaign, the staff caught fireplace because the season progressed, and is now wholesome coming into event play. Expect Luke Murphy and T.J. Casey to shoulder the majority of the load offensively.
Medfield’s best challenger may very nicely be Norwell, which claimed the No. 2 seed within the Div. 3 bracket. Then, the subsequent tier of potential opponents contains Hanover, Dracut and Foxboro. Keep your eyes peeled for Grafton, which has had latest post-season success in previous years. Some coaches have additionally talked about Wayland as a darkish horse candidate, because the Timberwolves performed pretty nicely in opposition to a gauntlet of a schedule.
From an out of doors look, your newly-formed Div. 4 discipline seems to be considerably top-heavy, with former Div. 3 juggernauts Sandwich and Cohasset claiming the primary two seeds, respectively. You would assume these two packages are virtually destined to embark on a crash course for the state closing. However, there could possibly be some curveballs alongside the way in which. Dover-Sherborn must be within the combine as at all times, and be careful for different packages reminiscent of Wahconah, Weston, Medway and Rockland.
BOYS LACROSSE PREDICTIONS
DIV. 1 STATE CHAMPION: St. John’s Prep
DIV. 1 STATE RUNNER-UP: BC High
DIV. 1 SLEEPER: Concord-Carlisle
BEST FIRST ROUND MATCH: No. 15 Chelmsford vs. No. 18 Andover
POSSIBLE UPSET: No. 19 Algonquin over No. 14 Lexington
DIV. 2 STATE CHAMPION: Longmeadow
DIV. 2 STATE RUNNER-UP: Duxbury
DIV. 2 SLEEPER: Scituate
BEST FIRST ROUND MATCH: No. 16 Wakefield vs. No. 17 Melrose
POSSIBLE UPSET: No. 26 Sharon over No. 7 Minnechaug
DIV. 3 STATE CHAMPION: Medfield
DIV. 3 STATE RUNNER-UP: Norwell
DIV. 3 SLEEPER: Wayland
BEST FIRST ROUND MATCH: No. 14 Groton-Dunstable vs. No. 19 Wilmington
POSSIBLE UPSET: No. 20 Lowell Catholic over No. 13 Shawsheen Valley
DIV. 4 STATE CHAMPION: Sandwich
DIV. 4 STATE RUNNER-UP: Cohasset
DIV. 4 SLEEPER: Rockland
BEST FIRST ROUND MATCH: No. 16 Stoneham vs. No. 17 Mashpee
POSSIBLE UPSET: No. 19 Manchester Essex over No. 14 Abington
Source: www.bostonherald.com