UPDATED: Defense Leads Medfield to Preliminary Round Win in State Tournament

Bob Aronson and the Medfield High School boys’ lacrosse team are no strangers to success in the MIAA state tournament – so it came as little surprise when the Warriors’ head coach had little to say after a 10-1 preliminary round victory.

“We have some things to work on,” Aronson said. “We didn’t execute as well as we should have.”

Medfield (12-7), the tournament’s ninth seed and Eastern Division 2 defending state champions, dispatched 24th seeded Dennis-Yarmouth, 10-1 Thursday, behind aggressive defense and goalkeeper Sam Aronson's play in net.

The lack of execution Aronson mentioned came on offense. The Warriors struggled to maintain ball possession at times and missed several opportunities near the cage to convert scoring chances into goals, but despite those struggles, managed to beat Dennis-Yarmouth handedly and advance to the next round of the Eastern Division 2 State Tournament.

“[Dennis-Yarmouth] is a very physical team and we need to prepare for that going forward,” Aronson said. “A lot of teams are coming for you and the stakes are higher.”

Medfield junior attack Calvin Given led the Warriors with four goals and Junior Connor Roddy and freshman Matthew Crowell each added three apiece to lead the Warriors’ offensive attack.

Medfield scored three goals in the first quarter, three goals in the second, two goals in the third and two in the fourth, while allowing just one goal in the second quarter with 18 seconds remaining in the first half.

Medfield will play eighth seeded Walpole in the first round of the Eastern Division 2 tournament on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Walpole High. Walpole defeated Dracut, the tournament’s 25th seed, 17-3 in the preliminary round.

Aronson said his team’s game plan for Walpole is simple, “put the ball in the net more than they do.”

“We have a scout on [Walpole] so we’ll read that and study it and make sure we know what our strengths and weaknesses are and what theirs are and exploit our strengths and exploit their weaknesses,” he said.

Thursday’s game was originally scheduled for Wednesday at 5 p.m. but severe weather and a tornado warning postponed it. Aronson said the postponement was a tough situation for both teams to overcome, but more so for Dennis-Yarmouth.

“It was tougher for them, you know long ride twice both ways and they played a decent game,” he said.

Aronson wants to see more from his team Saturday in Walpole.

“We need to pick up our spirits a little bit and play with a little more intensity,” He said.