Medfield Boys' Lax Beats Rival D-S to Claim Share of TVL Title

Medfield and Dover-Sherborn have been the only two teams to win the Tri-Valley League in its 11-year existence.

That pattern will continue in 2012 after Medfield ended a two-game winless streak against the rival Raiders with a 14-7 victory Friday at Medfield High School. The win gave Medfield a share of the TVL title with Dover-Sherborn.

"A big win for us to get a share of that TVL title back in Medfield for us," said Medfield co-head coach Mike Douglas. "This is a good team win and we shared the ball well."

Medfield avenged a 7-5 loss to Dover-Sherborn on April 27 with a seven-goal win on Senior Night. The victory means Medfield and D-S conclude the TVL season with 11-1 records in league play – splitting the season series 1-1. The key for Medfield's victory Friday started with the groundball game.

"We really talked about winning the groundball game on both ends of the field and making that transition in the middle of the field," said Douglas. "We played much more aggressive on the defensive end and really on the groundball game, which is what wins big games."

Leading Medfield's charge for a share of the TVL title was Chris Diana, who scored a team-high four goals and added two assists against the Raiders.

"Chris Diana played like beast," Douglas said.

Medfield's other offensive leaders Friday were:

• Matt Crowell, 3 goals
• Cal Given, 3 goals, 2 assists
• Conor Roddy, 3 assists
• Matt Ruzzo, 2 goals
• David Parsons, 1 goal
• Clay Richard, 1 goal

"We played great," Douglas said. "Our midfielders dominated the middle of the field. We scored 11 goals from midfield. Defensively we played great. I believe we held them 0-for-6 on man-up opportunities for D-S."

Medfield netminder Dougie Nelson came up big in crucial points of the game, especially in the penalty kill, according to Douglas.

"Doug Nelson had some big saves, especially on some man-down situations to create some transition there," Douglas said.

With two non-league games remaining on the regular season schedule, Douglas hopes Friday's victory coupled with a healthy roster will ready the team for its Division 2 state title defense next month.

"Hopefully we will use this as a springboard to get going in the tournament and our goal is to be peaking in June," said Douglas.

In the meantime, Douglas said he was proud of the team's effort Friday and enjoyed honoring the team's 12 seniors. The Warriors honored the following players prior to Friday's game:

• David Parsons
• Conor Roddy
• Cal Given
• Chris Diana
• Andrew Lydon
• Tyler Gustafson
• Clay Richard
• Cam Donnelly
• Conor Davis
• Dougie Nelson
• Tom Conlon
• Reece Steever

"Really proud of all of these guys," Douglas said. "It was senior night and all the seniors got out on the field and were able to contribute in the win. It was very satisfying."

Medfield has won nine TVL titles outright and one co-title (shared with Dover-Sherborn) in the league's 11-year history. Dover-Sherborn won the TVL title outright in 2011.