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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
It was an ideal start to the 2018 campaign for the Medfield High School girls lacrosse team on Monday night.
Behind a five-goal effort by senior captain and Harvard-bound star Maggie McCarthy, as well as a hat trick by junior Erin Seibel, the Lady-Warriors earned a convincing 12-5 victory to begin their season on a winning note.
Just 1:37 into the season, McCarthy finished off a strong drive to the cage on a restart with a shot up top to put Medfield ahead, 1-0.
Sophomore Jordan MacLean found a cutting Erin Seibel on the doorstep, and the junior deposited the ball home for a 2-0 Medfield lead with 17:33 to play in the half. Less than a minute later, Sophomore Erin Cooney fed a pass to a streaking Lauren Sleboda, and the junior fired home her first of the season to push the lead to 3-0. With 15:25 left, McCarthy shoveled home a goal to make it a 4-0 game.
Medway responded with a goal off of the ensuing faceoff to cut the deficit to 4-1. However, the Lady-Warriors responded almost immediately when Seibel drove to the cage off of a clear, fought off a pair of illegal stick checks to the grill, and still found a way to finish with a shot down low to extend Medfield’s lead to 5-1. On the ensuing man-up, McCarthy drove to the cage off of a feed from MacLean and finished high to move the lead to 6-1 with 10:37 to play in the half.
Just 16 seconds after McCarthy completed the hat trick, Seibel scooped up a ground ball, dashed in, and fired a shot low to complete her own hat trick to make it a 7-1 game and forced Medway to call a timeout.
Following the short pause in action, Medfield kept its foot on the gas as McCarthy deposited home another goal to push the lead to 8-1. The senior captain fired home a fifth tally with under two minutes to play and the Warriors took a 9-1 lead into halftime.
Medfield pushed their lead to 11-1 in the first five minutes of the second half. Medway cut the deficit back to 11-4 but the damage was already done, as the Lady-Warriors went on to win by a 12-5 final.
The Lady-Warriors will return to action against rival Dover-Sherborn on April 6.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
