Category: Boys Lacrosse
Franklin Has Playoff Run Come to Close in South Final
FRANKLIN, Mass. – In the semifinal win over Hingham, Franklin (18-1) struggled with uncharacteristic turnovers early in the game, but once the Panthers found the back of the net and grabbed the lead they established a rhythm on offense and never looked back.
In Sunday night’s Div. 1 South final against defending champ BC High, Franklin had another slow start but this time never looked comfortable on either end of the field. The Eagles clinched a fourth sectional title in the last five seasons, handing the Panthers a 14-9 loss in their first final appearance. It was Franklin’s only loss this season.
“It was a great year,” said Franklin coach Lou Verrochi. “We ran into a better team, at least tonight they were better. Hats off to them, they were bigger, faster, stronger, and in so many different areas they played great. Our kids battled.”
He added, “We didn’t handle the pressure real well. They pressed out on us and I don’t think we handled it as well as we could have, but I have nothing but good things to say about this group. They were unbelievable.”
Franklin’s Justin Alexander won the opening five face-offs of the game, but the Panthers struggled to connect passes together and the Eagles took advantage of turnovers to take an early lead. Will Emsing opened the scoring in transition and Emmett Martin doubled the lead with a shot on the run. Louis Timmins added a man-up goal to push the lead to 3-0 after eight minutes.
It took the Panthers almost nine minutes to create a good scoring chance, but once Luke Davis got his hands free on the run he was able to pick the bottom corner. About 30 seconds later, Davis got his second of the game, spinning his defender on the edge of the crease and squeezing a shot through the five-hole while falling.
A minute later Jack Maguire (11 saves) made a big stop, but Franklin turned it over in the clear and Vin Horton came right down and scored to make it 4-2. Another turnover handed the Eagles one more chance before the end of the quarter and this time it was Tim Rogers spinning back on his marker and firing into the corner.
The visitors had all the momentum and that carried over to the second quarter. Inside the first minute, Owen Porter became the sixth Eagle to find the back of the net with a lefty shot on the bounce.
Needing a spark, Franklin was able to again turn to Davis. The sophomore attacker received a pass from senior Matt Lazzaro and rifled a shot under the bar and just 40 seconds, after Joe Consigli was taken down driving towards the cage, Davis scooped the loose ball and finished from close range.
“It’s awesome to see Luke and Jayden, they have a ton of talent and the future is wicked bright for those two,” Lazzaro said about his fellow attackers. They’re just hard-working kids. Can’t wait to see what they do in the future.” Two years ago, Lazzaro was the young guy in an attacking three with Jake Davis and Ben Greco and he got a different perspective from being the veteran this season. He explained, “To see those two take charge and take command on the offensive end is cool.”
For the second time in the game, Franklin was able to hit with two quick goals and looked like it might be able to get back in it, but those were just flashes of the Panthers’ attacking ability and BC High quickly responded. Timmins got his second of the day, then Carter Rice and LSM James Carroll scored before halftime to build a 9-4 lead.
The Panthers really needed to get the first goal of the second half to try and start a rally, but it was Horton that found the bottom corner to extend the lead to six. Joe Consigli set up his brother Jayden for a good look from the edge of the crease only to be denied by Jamie Horton (12 saves).
Franklin was pressing and saw another turnover end a spell of possession, but Davis hustled back to force a turnover on the clear. He then turned and pushed forward into the attack, setting up Jayden Consigli for a goal.
Lazzaro was getting more space to get touches than he had in the previous two rounds, but the Eagles were making sure to throw multiple defenders at him every time he got the ball. With four minutes left in the third, he showed what makes him an All-American when he threw a fake that left the players on the field (and even some of the people of the sidelines) wondering where the ball ended up. Turns out it was still in his stick and he ripped a shot past Horton.
Rice answered with a spin and overhand finish and Horton came up with a big stop after Lazzaro sprung Ravin Chaudhury, who also took a big hit when he got to the edge of the crease. Franklin was able to get back within four, as Lazzaro went low-angle with a rip just a second before the horn.
“He’s been the man for four years now,” Verrochi said of Lazzaro. “He’s just an exceptional kid too. No one works harder than him, absolutely no one. You swear that the ball has eyes when he shoots sometimes from the angle that he shoots at and finishes. Everybody says, it was lucky, but it wasn’t, that was hours of preparation.”
Trailing 11-7, Franklin was still hanging around and still felt like it had a chance at winning a first South title, but the Panthers needed to be the next team on the board. Instead, BC High showed its championship pedigree by scoring three straight goals and opening the biggest lead of the game.
Lazzaro still had time for an addition to his lengthy highlight reel, as he got up from being knocked down and fired a shot from a seemingly impossible angle into the corner. Franklin added another in transition, Tim Walsh getting the ball up to Jayden Consigli for a close-range finish.
“The four captains did a great job in the offseason getting the kids to workouts and stuff and they were just committed,” Verrochi said. “They thought that this was going to be an exceptional year. They worked really hard.”
When asked about going further than any other Franklin team, Lazzaro, a Penn State-commit, replied, “It definitely shows how hard we worked as a team. It just shows off how hard we work and how great of a coaching staff we have and I’m just lucky to be part of a great program.”
Boys Lacrosse Photos: Franklin vs. Hingham
Franklin Dominates Hingham, Books Spot in First Final
FRANKLIN, Mass. – In the opening minutes of Friday night’s Div. 1 South semifinal at Pisini Stadium, Franklin looked a little out of sorts. Atypical turnovers, passes going awry, struggling to get into the attack, the Panthers looked a little tentative, like a team that had never gotten past this stage going up against a perennial state power.
Nearly 10 minutes into the first quarter, Franklin broke the deadlock. Two minutes later, the Panthers added a second. In the second quarter, they went on a 6-0 run and suddenly it was two-time defending D1 South champion (and 2017 D2 state champion) Hingham that was on the ropes.
After that slow start, Franklin dominated the Harbormen in every facet, putting together a complete team performance and pulling out a 15-7 victory that head coach Lou Verrochi called one of the biggest in program history. With the win, Franklin advances to its first ever sectional final.
“We took it to them really and I was pleased with that,” Verrochi said. “I mean, who wouldn’t be with that result against a Hingham team that’s traditionally one of the powers in Div. 1? It was a great win for the program and a great win for the kids.”
A relatively young and inexperienced defensive group has morphed into one of Franklin’s biggest strengths this season and the back line was excellent in the opening quarter. Hingham dominated possession, as an even younger Franklin attack tried to find its footing. It took more than eight minutes for Luke Davis to get Franklin’s first shot on target. Seconds later, senior goalie Jack Maguire (seven saves) came up with a big stop on a wrap around effort to keep it scoreless.
“Our best games are practices every day after school,” Maguire replied when asked about the growth of the defense this season. “Our offense is one of the best offenses in the state so we get to practice against the best in the state and we’re going to get better and we definitely did.”
The Panthers sparked into life after almost 10 minutes of play. Joe Consigli teed up Tim Walsh for a big chance but the shot smashed off the helmet of Hingham goalie Samuel Bellomy. Just seconds later, Matt Lazzaro got the ball behind the cage, dodged to the left of Bellomy and fired a low shot into the corner.
Bellomy (11 saves) came up with another big stop almost two minutes later, but the rebound was scooped up by Owen Kielty, who went behind his back to find the open net and double Franklin’s lead before the end of the quarter.
“The fact that we did score the first couple of goals I think was pretty good,” Verrochi explained. “It set the kids at ease a little bit and I think we played with a lot of composure after that.”
Hingham came back with a goal early in the second, as Owen Hoffman found the top corner. Instead of the start of a comeback, the goal seemed to open the floodgates on the other end of the field. The Panthers would score the game’s next six goals to open up a big lead.
After a Maguire save, the Panthers transitioned quickly with the ball going from Jayden Consigli to Davis to Lazzaro, who faked a shot to get Bellomy out of position before putting the chance away. Maguire took one off the mask from Charles Packard and then a minute later, Jayden Consigli fed his older brother for a rip to make it 4-1.
Lazzaro set up Joe Consigli for a chance that was saved, but Walsh and Kielty made sure Hingham couldn’t clear, forcing a turnover that turned into a Kielty backhand finish off a Lazzaro assist. Joe Consigli found his brother cutting for a sixth goal and then picked the corner with a snipe to make it 7-1. Kielty completed his hat trick with a great fake and overhand finish.
Although Hoffman scored just before halftime, Franklin went into the break with an 8-2 lead. A key to the Panthers’ dominance was Justin Alexander controlling the face-off ‘X’. The sophomore had a tough day against Wellesley in the previous round but won 19-of-24 on Friday.
Hingham did win the draw to start the second half and immediately cut the lead down to five, but a minute later another Maguire save turned into a transition goal at the other end. His outlet hit Ben Harvey at midfield and the sophomore pole quickly relayed it to Joe Consigli, who then found his brother right in front of goal. Davis added another less than a minute later to make it 10-3.
Verrochi said, “One thing about the Consigli boys is they’re always moving off ball, Jayden in particular. He’s always open, which is huge.”
With two goals three minutes apart, Hingham tried to get back into the game, but Franklin’s passing in the attack was too potent. Kielty to Jayden Consigli to Joe Consigli made it 11-5 and then Kielty made a nice one-on-one move to tack on another goal before the end of the third.
“I’ve been preaching to our middies that they need to go to the hole more,” said Verrochi about the balanced offense Franklin showed on Friday. “Tonight they did a pretty good job slowing down our attack so our midfielders, Joey and Owen, just took over. I’ve been telling Owen all year long, he’s been Mr. One More, and I said Owen you can start scoring goals. Tonight was evidence of that.”
As expected from a team with Hingham’s pedigree, the Harbormen kept fighting back, scoring a pair of goals in the opening three minutes of the fourth. Hoffman had a chance to make it a four-goal game and build some momentum for the visitors but his rising shot was tipped over the bar by Maguire.
Less than a minute later, the Consigli brothers, who transferred in from Northbridge last year, connected again (Jayden to Joe this time) for a goal that settled things down for Franklin. Lazzaro added another and then Kielty snagged his fifth of the game, taking a hit to finish.
Hingham had not allowed more than 10 goals in a game this season (even with a schedule featuring the likes of Lincoln-Sudbury, Duxbury, and St. John’s Prep), but the Panthers put 15 past them on Friday.
“This is our first time making it this far,” said Maguire. “It was just an all-around great game from goal line to goal line. We played awesome and…it’s on to BC High. It’s incredible. It’s awesome. It still doesn’t feel real.”
Franklin (18-0) will host No. 6 seed BC High on Sunday at 7:00 to try and win the program’s first sectional title and reach its first state championship game.
Boys Lacrosse Photos: Franklin vs. Wellesley
Young Attackers Fire Franklin Into South Semifinals
FRANKLIN, Mass. – After missing out on the experience of a freshman season on varsity, Franklin sophomore attackers Luke Davis and Aaron Wentling have been thrown right into the fire this spring. Both have shown more than capable of not only contributing, but excelling at this level.
In Wednesday night’s Div. 1 South quarterfinal against Wellesley at Pisini Stadium, the sophomores were back at it, scoring all but one of Franklin’s goals in a 10-5 victory that sends the Panthers to the sectional semifinal for the second straight year and third time overall.
“Jayden had a big game and Luke did too,” said Franklin coach Lou Verrochi about his attacking crew of Consigli, Davis, and senior playmaker Matt Lazzaro. “All three of those kids are excellent. That’s an excellent attack unit and they’re very unselfish. It was just a good win.”
With Lazzaro being tightly man-marked and struggling to get any touches on the ball, it was up to the younger guys to step up and fill the void. Consigli got things started when he took a pass from Lazzaro in the middle and was able to finish despite taking a big hit. Six minutes later and Consigli got a pass from his older brother Joe Consigli and used an effective fake to open a space to shoot at to double the Franklin lead.
The offense was moving well and getting decent looks but struggling to find the back of the net largely due to the play of Wellesley goalie Chase Wesley. The senior made six of his 18 saves in the first quarter alone, setting the tone early with a close-range stop on Joe Consigli, then kicking aside a rare shot from Lazzaro, and denying the Franklin star on a wraparound effort.
“He stood on his head didn’t he?” Verrochi said. “I mean, he had how many ring off his helmet? It could’ve been much worse, I thought their goalie was excellent.”
Wellesley was also controlling the face-off ‘X’. Christian Grosso won 4-of-5 face-offs in the first and it helped the Raiders get back into the game. After Carl Callahan scored with a shot on the run to cut the Franklin lead to one, Grosso won the face-off and Timothy Hall scored in transition to tie things. It was two goals in just 12 seconds.
Emmett Lyne made it a three-goal streak for Wellesley with a bounce shot a minute into the second. Franklin’s defense, led by poles Kyle Palmieri, Ben Harvey, Zach Harvey, and Luke Cashin, started to lock down and limited Wellesley’s scoring chances. After scoring three times in a three minute span, the Raiders would score only twice more in the final 34 minutes of the game.
“That’s a credit to Timmy Montgomery, he did a great job on the scout and told them what they were going to do,” Verrochi said about his team’s defensive effort. “We got the matchups that we wanted. That was what we thought might be a weak point but it has progressed into a really good defensive unit and Jack Maguire is excellent in goal.”
On the other end, Franklin continued to create chances but Wesley was holding the Panthers at bay. One sequence saw the ball circle from Davis to Jayden Consigli to Lazzaro to Joe Consigli in space only for Wesley to again keep it out.
Three minutes into the second, Davis got on the board with his first of the game, tying it at 3-3. Owen Kielty hit the post and Tim Walsh had Wesley stop a point-blank effort before Davis was able to put the Panthers back in front. Grabbing a loose ball following a shot that was blocked, Davis fired into the open net.
The visitors tied the game early in the third, with Lyne picking out Andrew Fantasia right in front. Maguire (nine saves) came up big to deny Wellesley on a chance right in front of goal and then Kielty smacked iron for the second time in the game. Lyne put the Raiders in front, 5-4, with a man-up goal midway through the third.
Davis had a quick response for the Panthers, getting his hands free and ripping a shot past Wesley. The Consiglis nearly combined again, only for Joe to see yet another shot come back off the Wellesley goalie, and then Davis put the Panthers ahead to stay. With 2:48 left in the quarter, he got hands-free again on the left side and fired another bullet past the goalie.
Wellesley almost tied the game a minute into the fourth after a behind-the-back pass by Callahan hit Lyne at the back post but he couldn’t beat the crossbar.
It took Franklin almost five minutes to find an important insurance goal. Joe Consigli showed good vision to catch his brother making an intelligent cut across the crease and the attacker picked a spot just inside the post. Less than a minute later, Davis stole a hurried outlet pass and got the ball up to Kielty, who lashed a shot just under the bar.
Consigli added his fourth goal of the night with 4:48 to play and Davis wrapped up the scoring with his fifth goal a little over a minute later. Lazzaro created the final goal with another stolen outlet and quick pass ahead to give Davis a one-on-one with the goalie.
Verrochi was proud of his team, especially the younger players for coming through in a tight, pressure-packed fourth quarter, something that has been rare this season. “We’ve been ahead almost all year long,” he said. “We just haven’t had games like that, which is good, we needed it because that’s what we’re going to get from Hingham for sure.
Franklin (17-0) will try to secure the program’s first-ever sectional final appearance when it hosts No. 4 seed Hingham on Friday night.
Hockomock Lacrosse Playoff Seeds & Matchups
Below are the seeds and matchups for Hockomock teams in the MIAA playoffs. Records listed are for MIAA tournament purposes and do not include exclusion games. Times and dates are subject to change and we will update this post with any changes.
Boys
D1 South
#1 Franklin (15-0) will play the winner of #16 Mansfield (5-8)/#17 Weymouth (4-10), time and date TBD.
#10 King Philip (9-4) will travel to #7 Duxbury (10-4) on Monday, 6/21 at 5:30.
#16 Mansfield (5-8) will host #17 Weymouth (4-10) on Friday, 6/18 at 2:00.
#18 Attleboro (3-10) will travel to #15 Marshfield (5-6) on Friday, 6/18 at 11:00.
D2 South
#1 Canton (12-1) will host #16 North Quincy (2-12) on Friday, 6/18 at 12:30.
D2 Central/East
#2 Foxboro (11-3) will host the winner of #7 Walpole (6-6)/#10 Arlington (2-10), time and date TBD.
#8 North Attleboro (6-7) will host #9 Belmont (5-7) on Friday, 6/18 at 4:00.
Girls
D1 East
#1 Franklin (14-0) will play the winner of #8 North Middlesex (8-4)/#9 Acton-Boxboro (7-4) on Monday, 6/21 at time TBD.
#2 King Philip (12-2) will play the winner of #7 Concord-Carlisle (9-3-1)/#10 Mansfield (8-5) on Monday, 6/21 at time TBD.
#10 Mansfield (8-5) will travel to #7 Concord-Carlisle (9-3-1) on Monday, 6/21 at 3:00.
#12 North Attleboro (7-5) will travel to #5 Lincoln-Sudbury (8-2) on Friday, 6/18 at 4:00.
D1 South
#15 Canton (5-8) will host #18 Whitman-Hanson (3-10-1) on Friday, 6/18 at 3:45.
#16 Taunton (5-9) will host #17 Marshfield (3-9) on Friday, 6/18 at 3:30.
D2 East
#2 Foxboro (11-1) will host the winner of #7 Bedford (8-4)/#10 Arlington Catholic (6-7) on Monday, 6/21 at time TBD.
Boys Lacrosse Photos: Foxboro vs. Canton
Canton Edges Defensive League Title Clash at Foxboro
FOXBORO, Mass. – Midway through the second quarter, it looked like Canton could be running away with Wednesday evening’s showdown against fellow Davenport division leader Foxboro at Sam Berns Community Field, but with both defenses and both goalies on top of their games, the Warriors were able to creep back into the game.
Dylan Coyne came up with a pair of big saves in the final two minutes and was able to run nearly all of the final 40 seconds off the clock on a clear to preserve a 7-6 win for the visitors and gave the Bulldogs the upper hand on winning the league title. Canton was able to pull out the win despite scoring only two goals over the game’s final 30 minutes.
“It was a really good start for our guys,” said Canton coach Ryan Quinn. “I think we got a little bit lost in the middle of the game. Foxboro is a hell of a team. We expected a close game. Fortunately for us, like we’ve talked about all year, timely goals for our offense, really good job by our goalie not only making the saves but making the clears, and our defense doing what they always do.”
The Warriors had a great chance within the opening minute of the game, as midfielder Max Beigel broke free and had a good look at goal only to slam it off Coyne’s mask and out. Canton dominated the rest of the quarter, controlling the ball for long stretches at a time. Foxboro only had one other chance late in the first when Conor Noone spiked a shot on the edge of the crease that bounced wide.
It took eight minutes for the breakthrough goal. Freshman Brendan Tourgee got his hands free to the left side of the goal and went with a low-angle rip for a man-up goal. A minute later, Tourgee nearly added an assist when he picked out Jeffrey Chaput at the post only for Foxboro freshman goalie Adam Addeche to make a big stop.
Canton doubled its lead with another man-up chance. This time it was a sidearm effort through traffic by Jeff Fitzpatrick. Inside the final minute, the Bulldogs tacked on a third. Freshman Patrick Drury was able to beat Addeche (five saves) with a shot on the run.
“It was a lot to overcome with the heat,” said Foxboro coach Matt Noone. “I’m telling you, my team didn’t come ready to play today and that was a very tough Canton team.”
After the rough start, Foxboro settled down to start the second and got on the board when Jack Avery fired a pass across the crease to Noone, who managed to jump, catch, and fire a behind-the-back shot all in one motion to beat Coyne.
The momentum was short-lived, as Canton restored its lead just 30 seconds later after Jack Albert made a great defensive play and a great clear up the sideline in front of the benches. Albert got the ball to Sam Carlino, who spun and fired a shot inside the post. A turnover was converted into a fifth goal, as Tourgee got the ball ahead to Chaput for a free run on goal.
With the game slipping away, Foxboro again came up with a big response, as Noone went with a low-angle shot to make it 5-2 heading into halftime. The Warriors had a little bit extra energy and seemed to be getting control on the defensive end.
Early in the third, Foxboro got one closer. Tom Sharkey used a turnover in the defensive zone to get a free run at Coyne and was able to score from close range.
Carlino had a good look at goal stopped by Addeche midway through the quarter, but the Bulldogs were suddenly struggling to maintain possession and creating very few chances.
Quinn explained, “We weren’t running to the ball, our offense was kind of taking for granted the possessions we had, but I got to tell you Foxboro’s defense is a hell of a defense. They put a lot of pressure on our guys and threw a couple different mixes in.”
Freshman Lincoln Moore almost got Foxboro back within one but his point-blank leaping shot was denied by Coyne (eight saves). The Warriors would get closer when Sharkey added his second of the quarter, beating his marker with a quick dodge and scoring at the near post to make it 5-4.
Noone noted, “My kids battled. We’re young. I only have two seniors on this team.”
After going scoreless in the third, Canton was able to finally find the back of the net 90 seconds into the fourth quarter. Carlino showed his strength to ride several checks and hits from multiple defenders to get to the crease and he grabbed his second of the night.
One minute later, Foxboro was right back in the game. After a Canton turnover on the sideline, Nick Penders cut in from the right, took a hit, and managed to squeeze his shot past Coyne while falling to the ground. This time, Canton needed only a minute to respond. Out of a timeout, Chaput was able to draw defenders at the ‘X’ and find a cutting Carlino, who made a nice catch on the high pass and finished, completing his hat trick and making it 7-5.
The score stayed the same for almost five minutes, but the young Warriors weren’t done yet. Moore was able to beat his man on the left side of goal and fired a high shot past Coyne to bring the hosts back within one with 3:30 to play.
Foxboro had its chances to try and force overtime. Sharkey got free with two minutes to go but Coyne made the stop and then it was Sharkey again getting the run on his marker, this time from behind the goal, but Coyne was again equal to it. The Canton goalie raced upfield on the clear and used up almost all of the remaining time.
“I don’t know if I’ll make it through the year,” Quinn joked. “I’m going to have a heart attack. These games are so good. We’ll have a big practice tomorrow and then hopefully take care of business on Friday.”
At the final whistle there was plenty of back-and-forth between the two teams, as Canton (11-0, 10-0) took a lead in the title race. Nothing has been decided yet though. Foxboro (10-3, 8-1) will have its chance to answer back when the teams meet again at WWII Vets Memorial Field on Friday afternoon. If the Warriors win the rematch, then they will clinch at least a share of the title and Canton will need to win its final game against Oliver Ames to match.
“My team is going to feed off that. You believe me, my team is going to show up to play,” said Noone. “We’re going to get to work tomorrow and I’m telling you we’re going to be ready to play on Friday. If we lose, power to them because they’re going to have to play their best game to beat us.”
