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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
A 12-6 regular season record earned the Medfield High School girls lacrosse team the No. 5 seed in Division II East last spring.
Following a 19-6 victory over Bishop Stang in round-one, the Warriors put together one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Massachusetts high school lacrosse, coming from 10-4 down with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter to defeat arch rival Dover-Sherborn, 11-10, in double-overtime of the East semifinals. The performance was pioneered by 10 points (seven goals, three assists) from then-junior Maggie McCarthy.
Five days later, the Warriors fell to eventual East Sectional champ and No. 1 overall seed, Walpole, in the sectional semifinals.
This season, the Warriors return several key pieces of the team that was able to pull off that epic comeback against the Raiders last June, including overtime hero and now-senior captain Maggie McCarthy. Leading the Warriors into battle alongside the Harvard-bound midfielder will be senior co-captain and attacker Brooke Deady.
“We like to break up our season into stages,” said Medfield head coach Kathleen McCullough when asked about she expects out of her team this season. “Our first goal will be to focus on being successful in the regular season. This means securing a spot in the state tournament by earning enough wins to move on. Our daily practice goals will be to continue to develop specific skills to improve as a team. Pushing ourselves to be better than the previous year is always a goal.”
Returning impact players on offense for the Warriors this season are senior Lauren Sleboda, junior Erin Seibel as well as sophomores Erin Cooney, Kayla Keegan and Jordan MacLean. Defensively, the Warriors will rely on a trio of seniors in Emma Hilvert, Becca Brown and Kate Slowe.
Despite losing a strong and experienced senior class from 2017, the Warriors have several key additions out of their freshmen class that should make large impacts this season, including Kathryn Blake, Kelly Morrison, and Erin Sullivan.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
