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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Westwood High boys lacrosse finds itself in an interesting position. A year after coming one overtime goal short of a Division II Central/East sectional title, the Wolverines have found their rhythm and are rounding into form at the perfect time.
The Wolverines finished the regular season at 12-6 (9-4), which included wins over Division I power Acton-Boxboro and TVL rival Hopkinton, earning them the No. 5 seed in Division II Central/East. When it comes to this upcoming tournament, senior captain and attack-man Conor Donohue says he and his teammates hope to repeat the types of efforts they gave against AB and Hopkinton in order to make a long run.
“We have to play the rest of our games like we did against AB,” said Donohue. “Only a few of the guys knew they were second in the state and undefeated. Nothing was in our minds going into the game and we proved to ourselves not only can we play with any team, but also win. We will carry this mentality into playoffs.”
As far as other components that will allow for a long tournament run, Donohue says that playing unselfishly and sticking with the game plan could prove to be the most critical for the Wolverines.
“Maintaining a steady offense will come from our non-selfish play,” said Donohue. "Nobody cares who puts the ball in the net, as long as it gets there. We have contributions from every player on the team and everyone knows how to play every position. We just need to run our offenses and goals will come for us.”
Lacrosse is a game of possession, and Donohue and his teammates recognize how important their lethal fogo duo of Charlie Harrington and Kevin Lyons are when it comes to winning games in a sectional as loaded as Division II Central/East.
"Charlie and Kevin have been huge for us for three years straight,” said Donohue. “Every year, I couldn’t tell you who is better at face-offs. It is huge for us going into the tournament that we have two guys that can beat any face-off kid we play, with help from [Matt] Cawley getting loose ground balls and turning it into offense. Having more possessions than the other team is a huge part of the game, and when we can control that, the outcome is usually good for us.”
As for the road ahead, Donohue admits that a potential date with Medfield in the semifinals is certainly intriguing to him and his teammates. However, all of the focus for now is on Foxborough, and the Wolverines are sticking to the “one game at a time” mindset.
“It’s hard not to look at the bracket and see the possible chance to play Medfield,” said Donohue. “But we both have to get there first, and Foxborough is no pushover. They have some very skilled players that we need to game-plan for, and will need a great week of practice to be ready for Thursday.”
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter @fLAno0.
