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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Following a successful regular season that saw a 2-0 sweep of arch-rival Dover-Sherborn and a share of the TVL title, the Medfield High School varsity boys lacrosse team earned the No. 2 overall seed in the MIAA Division II Central/East Sectionals on Friday. The Warriors (12-6) will face the winner of (7) Wayland and (10) Belmont on June 2 in the quarterfinals.
An obvious Warrior name to look out for in this tournament will be senior captain and Holy Cross commit, Jack Cahill, who has undoubtedly been the bread and butter of Medfield’s offense in 2017 with his swift dodging abilities, his incredible speed, powerful shot, and effective off-ball movement. Medfield has the depth to allow any of its midfielders or attack-men to have the ball on their sticks in pressure situations, but given Cahill’s proven ability to thrive in big moments, it should come to no surprise if and when “Captain Jack” has a big moment late in one of these tournament games.
Another name to look out for in this tournament will be that of attack-man and Johns Hopkins commit, Owen Murphy. Like Cahill, Murphy possesses an incredible shot and holds the ability to make an opposing defender miss in a phone booth. The difference? Murphy still has two more years of high school eligibility remaining, as he is only a sophomore. Murphy has made a habit out of making big time plays in big time situations, and the perfect example of his clutch gene came during Medfield 13-12 come-from-behind win on May 20 when Murphy fired home the game-winner in double overtime
A big part of success at any level of lacrosse is goaltending, and it is hard to find a goalie that has been more consistent in the TVL this season than junior Liam Gately. During Medfield’s 10-9 win over DS on May 17, Gately produced 17 saves and was the clear deciding factor in a game that really could have gone either way, given all the future Division I talent that was present on the field that night (Cahill, Murphy, DS’s Bailey Laidman). If Medfield is going to make it deep into this year’s state tournament, the play between the pipes by Liam Gately will be a significant reason.
The Medfield girls, meanwhile, earned the No. 5 seed in the Division II East Sectional, and will take on 12-seeded Bishop Stang on May 30 in the opening round. A win over Bishop Stang would slide the lady-Warriors (12-6) into a possible quarterfinal date with No. 4 seed and arch-rival DS (14-4) on June 2. If this potential second round matchup occurs, the Warriors will be out for some revenge after DS came to Medfield and won 15-10 back on May 17.
