By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
The Bay State Conference champion Timberwolves capped off their regular season on Monday evening with a dominant 19-6 win over Needham, improving to 19-1 overall and a perfect 13-0 in conference play. Following the conclusion of the season and release of playoff brackets, Walpole drew the No. 2 seed in the Division II tournament.
The game was not much of a competition as Walpole got out to a 2-0 lead behind free-position goals from captain Caitlyn Naughton and junior Grace Hagan. Although Needham managed to answer with a free-position goal of its own, the score would be the Rockets’ only in the first twelve minutes.
Four goals in the rest of the first quarter, highlighted by junior Emily Hagan scooping up a loose ball at midfield and charging downfield for a swift assist to captain Sophia Fruci cutting across the middle for her second goal, equated to a 6-1 lead at the first break. Other goalscorers included captain Jenna Wong and Emily Hagan.
Between the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second quarter, senior goaltender Elise Sirard and the Timberwolves’ defense shut down every Needham attack, going over twelve minutes without conceding a score. By the time the Rockets put another tally on the board, Walpole had ripped off six consecutive goals.
Fruci scored her third goal of the game to kick off the second frame while Grace Hagan notched a hat trick in the second quarter alone. Wong and Naughton each found the back of the net for the second time in the game, leading to a 12-3 lead heading into halftime.
The third quarter was the lightest on the score as Walpole slowed its offensive pace down but continued to wreak havoc defensively. Naughton and Fruci added to their goal total and junior Ava MacLean scored her first goal of the game.
The clock continued to run for the rest of the game as Walpole kept a 10 goal or more lead for the remainder of the matchup. The scoring was rounded out by two goals from Emily Hagan and one each from Wong and Naughton.
With the regular season over, the Timberwolves can officially set all their focus on winning another state championship. They will await the winner of No. 31 North Attleborough and No. 34 Amherst-Pelham Regional to find out who their first postseason opponent is.
Walpole’s corner of the bracket also includes the following three matchups: No. 15 Marshfield versus No. 18 Burlington – a matchup in which Walpole would face the winner of in the second round, No. 7 East Longmeadow versus No. 26 Norwood and No. 10 Grafton versus No. 23 Marblehead.
On the opposite side of the bracket is the only team to top Walpole this season: Notre Dame Academy. The Timberwolves fell 13-8 in the beginning of May to the eventual No. 1 seed.
If the regular season is any indication, Walpole will have a great chance at getting revenge with a state championship on the line.
