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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Two Division I powers met for a little early-season non-conference showdown on Thursday afternoon as the top-ranked Hingham Harbormen hosted the Wellesley Raiders in the semifinals of the 2019 Coaches Challenge Cup.
Despite a pair of goals from standout junior attack-man Carl Callahan, a 7-0 run by the Harbormen to start the game was too much for the Raiders to overcome, as Hingham fought off Wellesley for a 9-4 victory.
In a game that featured high-level talent across the board, maybe no matchup was more intriguing than at the face-off X between Hingham’s Charlie Egan and Wellesley’s Teddy Komjathy. Egan ended up winning the overall battle, going 10-for-14 on the day.
Trailing 7-0, Callahan fired home a laser on the man-up with under a minute to play in the half to trim the deficit to six for the Raiders at halftime. Callahan picked up right where left off at the beginning of the third quarter, firing home his second off of a fast break to pull Wellesley to within five at 7-2. Pat Doyle and Jake Higgins responded with goals off of transition to bulk Hingham’s lead back to seven at 9-2 at the end of three quarters.
Will Manning fired home a goal off of a rush to make it a 9-3 game early in the fourth before Hugh Callahan pulled Wellesley to within five at 9-4 with a man-up goal. Unfortunately for Wellesley, Egan was able to win the ensuing face-off, allowing Hingham to control possession and kill a huge chunk of clock. Time ran out and Hingham prevailed by the 9-4 final.
The Wellesley boys will look to rebound on April 25 against rival Newton North.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0.
