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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Following a dominant 19-1 regular season in which they were atop the state rankings (Globe, Herald, etc) for the majority of the year and earned themselves the top spot in the Division I South sectionals, Westwood High girls lacrosse entered the state tournament confident, and for good reason. Within their strong regular season came victories against NDA Hingham, the sectional’s No. 2 seed, Needham (No. 3), and reigning Division I champ Wellesley (No. 4), imbuing the Wolverines with some confidence knowing they held the ability to beat the top teams in their sectional.
After rolling through the early rounds with victories over No. 16 Falmouth (23-2) and Braintree (18-4), the Lady-Wolverines ground their way to a 10-9 win to knock out the reigning champs from Wellesley, setting up a date with rival and No. 2 NDA in the sectional final. Unfortunately, history did not repeat itself this time around, as the Cougars got their revenge on Westwood in the form of a 13-8 upset win to claim the South title and move onto states, ending the Wolverines’ championship hopes.
NDA began the game on a 5-0 run and took a 9-3 lead into halftime. Ashley Mackin responded for Westwood early in the second half with three goals to help the Wolverines cut the deficit down to 11-7.
However, four goals would be the closest that Westwood would get. NDA scored a pair to push their lead to 13-7 and went on to win by the five-goal final to claim the South sectional.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter @fLAno0.
