Dover-Sherborn's Annie Parizeau (9) defends against Westwood's Lindsey Diomede (5) on a rush up the field. Photos by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Westwood High School girls varsity lacrosse hosted Dover-Sherborn High School for a huge midseason showdown of unbeatens last Wednesday evening at Flahive Field.
The Wolverines entered Wednesday at 9-0 and 7-0 in TVL play, while DS came in at 7-0, having only played conference games. Despite playing in separate divisions (Westwood - Large, DS - Small), the winner of Wednesday's tilt would have the upper hand in the race for the overall TVL regular season championship,
In the early going, it was all Westwood. The Wolverines opened the game on a 4-0 run, thanks to a pair of goals each by Ava Connaughton (three goals, six assists) and Jane Gaffney. It took until 1:06 of the second quarter for DS to get on the board as Mags Rieper (one goal, one assist) went coast to coast and finished a shot at the net-mouth to make it 4-1.
Ashley Mackin (two goals) and Kate Deehan (three goals) responded with back-to-back goals 47 seconds apart to push Westwood's lead back to five at 6-1. DS trimmed the deficit down to four with 6:15 to play in the half, thanks to a nice feed from Rieper from behind the net to Annie Parizeau (two goals) at the net-mouth. However, a goal by Mackin on the man-up, a goal off a free position restart by Lillian Hancock, along with a strong drive and finish by Connaughton, helped Westwood bulk its lead back to seven at halftime at 9-2.
Hope Shue scored just 39 seconds into the second half to make it a 9-3 game. Westwood continued its trend of responding aggressively, however, as back-to-back goals by Deehan and Emma Ricci (two goals) gave the Wolverines an 11-3 lead with 6:21 to play in the third. DS would get back to within six at 12-6, thanks to a pair of nice feeds from Kate Mastrobuono (two assists) and finishes by Hope Shue at the net-mouth, but that would be the closest the Raiders would get. Goals by Ricci and Lindsey Diomede (one goal, two assists) on the man-up early in the fourth allowed Westwood to pull away and prevail by the 14-7 final.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
