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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Two top-20 teams met for a late-season non-conference showdown on Wednesday night as the No. 8 Xaverian Hawks hosted the No. 17 Billerica Indians at the Hawk Bowl for Xaverian’s senior night.
Unfortunately for both sides, some non-ideal weather late in the fourth quarter forced the game’s conclusion to be postponed until Wednesday.
Billerica struck first with 6:31 to play in the first quarter thanks to a drive and finish up high on the right-hand by Matt Milano. Jack Whalen evened the game at one for Xaverian with 4:44 to play with a right-handed crank from 15 yards away.
James Einarson began a 3-0 run for the Indians with 50 seconds left in the quarter with a righty bouncer to give Billerica a 2-1 lead at the end of one. Einarson struck again just 1:06 into the second quarter on an off-stick bouncer before Patrick Quinn extended Billerica’s lead to 4-1 with a lefty finish down low with 8:19 remaining.
Trevor Carroll cut the deficit back to a pair of goals for Xaverian at 4-2 with a dodge from X and finish down low on his strong right-hand with 5:17 to play, but Milano notched his second of the game with 2:37 to play to give the Indians a 5-2 edge at halftime.
Sam Sartell fired home a left-handed rip on the move with 9:18 to play in the third quarter to extend Billerica’s lead to 6-2. Thomas Vaughn responded for Xaverian with a goal on a right-handed bounce shot off of transition just 32 seconds later to immediately cut the deficit back to 6-3. Andrew Perry fired home a goal at the crease off of a feed from Carroll to make it 6-4, but Einarson completed his hat trick just 40 seconds later with a laser off of a fast break to make it a three-goal game once again at 7-4.
Xaverian settled things down and responded with a 3-0 run, beginning with a goal by Andrew Perry on the man-up to cut it to 7-5 with 3:38 to play in the quarter. Junior attack-man Sam Jean cut the deficit to a single goal for Xaverian at the end of three by putting home a rebound at the crease with just 18 seconds to play.
Perry capitalized off of the momentum from the goal scored by Jean at the end of the third and followed it up with the equalizer on the man-up with a lefty drive and bouncer via the five-hole to even the game at seven with 9:15 to play.
Quinn gave Billerica back the lead with a right-handed crank on the man-up with 6:12 to play. Xaverian won the ensuing faceoff and set up shop in the Billerica end, hoping to tie the game. With 5:19 to play, the game was abruptly stopped due to lightning in the area. The bad weather never went away and the game’s conclusion was postponed until May 30.
“Definitely not ideal,” said Xaverian head coach Tim Gardner following the postponement. “Having possession in their end in a big game like this against a good team on senior night and you have the chance to tie it, you never want that. It is what it is, our guys will be ready on Wednesday.”
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
