By Ken Chaisson
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
In a clash of titans in girls’ lacrosse, Walpole battled three time defending state champion Notre Dame Academy-Hingham (NDA) Cougars on Friday May 9, 2025 at Walpole High School. NDA came away with a hard fought victory, 13-8, in miserable weather conditions.
It was a rematch of last season’s Division 2 state final when the Timberwolves fell to the top-seeded Cougars, 14-10. This season, Walpole was 13-0 and NDA was 12-3 coming into the contest.
Walpole is led by their captains Caitlyn Naughton (UMass-Amherst), Jenna Wong (Babson), Sophia Fruci (Bryant) and Abby Poirier. Twins Grace and Emily Hagan (Temple) are also speedy, tireless forces for the Timberwolves.
Walpole started the scoring with Naughton scoring off a feed from Emily Hagan 1:10 into game. However, NDA led 5-1 after the first period.
The second quarter was more of the same as NDA went into halftime leading 8-2. NDA won most of the faceoffs in the first half. Typically whoever won the faceoff maintained possession and eventually scored.
In the second half, Walpole came out on fire. They started winning faceoffs and maintaining possession. They crept to 8-6 which prompted NDA to call a timeout with 6:24 to go in the period. NDA stymied Fruci on a free position shot with four minutes to go. But that was as close as the Timberwolves got. NDA scored three goals in the last 90 seconds of the period to put them up 11-6 going into the final stanza.
With no shot clock in girls’ lacrosse, the team with the lead can hold the ball for minutes at a time. Walpole got it to 12-8 and pulled their goalie but NDA kept possession for the final four minutes eventually scoring into the empty net.
Both teams exhibited speed and endurance through the cold, pouring rain. Their passing and stickwork was exemplary. Naughton had a hat trick, Emily Hagan had two goals and an assist, while MacLean had a goal and two assists and Wong had a goal and assist.
It wouldn’t be surprising if these two squads meet again in June in the Division 2 state playoffs.
The road to a state championship never gets any easier as Walpole plays such non-conference powerhouses as Duxbury, King Philip and Longmeadow and Bay State Conference iron such as Division 1 Needham as the regular season winds down.
