Walpole’s Ethan Kelley (12) defends against Medfield’s Brian Abely (23) midway through the second quarter. Photos by Mike Flanagan
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Two years ago, Medfield and Walpole High played one of the more epic high school lacrosse playoff games in recent memory, with Medfield rallying from two goals down in the final 13 seconds to tie the game, followed by the winner from Jack Cahill in overtime to claim the Division Central/East title for the Warriors.
On Friday, the two schools met for the first time since that night in June of 2017, this time in the quarterfinal round of the Central/East sectional as the top-seeded Warriors hosted the No. 8 Rebels. Behind a seven-goal performance by junior attack-man Jack McCordic and a four-goal, three-assist evening from senior attack-man Mike Hauptman, the Warriors took care of business with a 19-5 victory over the Conor Foley-led Rebels, as the UMass Lowell-bound attack-man finished with two goals and a pair of assists.
Jake Sherman put Medfield ahead off of a feed from Jimmy Cosolito with 9:56 to play in the first quarter. Cole Tashjian evened the game at one a little less than a minute later with 8:59 remaining in the opening quarter, but Medfield responded with a 4-0 run to claim a 5-1 lead at the end of one.
A hat trick from Hauptman along with McCordic’s fourth of the night extended Medfield’s lead to 9-1 before Foley put an end top the run with a goal on the man-up, making it a 9-2 game with 5:55 remaining in the half. McCordic notched his fifth followed by back-to-back goals from Jake Sherman to complete his hat trick, as the Warriors carried a commanding 13-2 lead into halftime.
Walpole began the second half with back-to-back goals from Ethan Kelley and Nolan Beauregard to cut the deficit to 13-4. Medfield responded with three straight to take a 16-4 lead into the fourth. Conor Foley cut the deficit to 16-5 midway through the fourth but it was too little too late, as Medfield scored three more and advanced with the 19-5 victory.
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