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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
After dropping back-to-back games to rivals Walpole (8-7 in overtime) and Needham (14-8) in early-May, the Wellesley High School boys lacrosse has made the proper adjustments and gotten hot at the perfect time.
On Sunday, the Raiders (12-4, 7-3) fought their way to a big 9-7 road victory against Division II power Concord-Carlisle, finishing off their regular season winners of five straight since the Walpole defeat on May 8.
Wellesley senior captain, goaltender, and Penn State commit Teddy Darcey made a season-high 18 saves while fellow senior captain Michael Bomes (three goals, one assist) and freshman Carl Callahan (three goals, one assist) backboned Wellesley’s offense. Senior captain Nick Marvan also netted a pair of goals for the Raiders, with Jack Hughes recording one.
Hughes drew first blood for the Raiders less than a minute in, but Concord-Carlisle responded with a goal off of the ensuing faceoff to immediately even the game back up at one. Callahan gave the Raiders back the lead 2:32 later with a rip on the man-up, but CC responded with a goal via a left-handed jump shot by Devin Smith to even the game at two with 20 seconds to play in the opening quarter.
Marvan’s first of the game off of a dodge from X and finish down low reclaimed the lead for Wellesley at 3-2 with 11:09 to play in the second quarter before a laser by Bomes off of a feed from Callahan doubled the Raiders advantage to a pair at 4-2. Bomes fired home his second of the quarter from about 14 yards away to make it a 5-2 lead for Wellesley. Smith cut the gap to 5-3 for CC with two minutes to play in the quarter with a drive to the crease and a lefty finish up high, and the Raiders brought their two-goal lead into halftime.
Smith completed the hat trick for CC less than two minutes into the second half to trim the deficit down to a single goal at 5-4, but Callahan responded in the blink of an eye for the Raiders with a crank from 12 yards away to immediately give Wellesley back some insurance and make it a 6-4 game. A series of saves midway through the quarter by Darcey kept it at 6-4 before Callahan completed his hat trick off a feed from Will Manning during transition to extend the lead to three. CC finally put one past Darcey on a rebound in the final minute of the quarter. The Raiders carried a two-goal lead into the fourth, looking to shut the door with a two-minute locked-in EMO due to an illegal check to the head.
On the EMO, Bomes simply took over the game for Wellesley, launching home a pair of highlight-reel goals to extend the Raider lead to four at 9-5 with 6:52 remaining. The Patriots were able to net a pair of goals late to cut the deficit to 9-7, but the Bomes-induced trauma was took much for Concord-Carlisle to overcome, and the Raiders hung on for the big two-goal victory.
At the time of print, the Raiders await to have their postseason seeding determined by the MIAA.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
