Dover-Sherborn's Kate Mastrobuono (11) defends against Medfield's Erin Sullivan (20) on a rush up the field. Photos by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Two teams with eyes set on a Division II state championship later this spring met at Fisher Field on Friday night as the Medfield High School girls varsity lacrosse team hosted arch rival Dover-Sherborn.
The first quarter was about as back-and-forth as they come. DS began the game with a 2-0 run, thanks to goals by senior Kate Mastrobuono (three goals, one assist) and Amelia Novitch (five goals, four assists). Medfield responded with back-to-back goals by Grenne Campbell (two goals, one assist) and Erin Sullivan (three goals, two assists) to tie the game at two. A strong drive and finish at the crease by Mastrobuono was countered by a goal off a restart by freshman Kelly Blake to tie the game at three. Consecutive goals by Annie Parizeau (two goals, one assist) and Hope Shue (six goals, one assist) gave DS a 5-3 lead, but Medfield responded with back with goals by Sullivan and Kathryn Blake just before the end of the quarter to tie the game at five at the end of one.
Mastrobuono won the opening face-off of the second quarter and dished a perfect feed to Shue for an easy goal off of transition, just 12 seconds into the second quarter. Shue's goal sparked an 8-2 run by the Raiders, with goals coming from Shue (four), Parizeau, Mastrobuono, Mags Rieper and Coco Hauck (one goal, four assists) to give DS a 13-7 lead at halftime.
Unlike the first half, which saw a constant surge of offense, the third quarter saw both teams tighten up defensively. A pair of saves by Isabelle Iannone early in the half helped keep the game at 13-7. Campbell shot home a bounce down low on a restart to cut the deficit to 13-8, but Shue countered with a perfect shot on the run off transition to push the lead back to six at 14-8. With just two second remaining, Sullivan was awarded a chance to cut into the deficit just before the end of the quarter on a restart. With no time to waste, Sullivan unleashed a cannon into the top-left corner of the net for a buzzer-beating goal to trim the deficit to 14-9 at the end of three.
Despite surrendering the late strike to Sullivan, DS remained composed and took control to begin the fourth. A 3-0 run with goals by Novitch, Mia Guarini and Mastrobuono helped the Raiders begin to pull away at 17-9. The lead remained at around eight goals for DS thanks to two more tallies from Novitch during the final eight minutes. The Raiders chewed up the remainder of the clock and came away with the 19-11 victory.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
