Medfield Eliminates Top Seeded Wellesley from State Tourney in Boys' Lax

Another year of the same for the Medfield and Wellesley boys' lacrosse teams in the state tournament as the Warriors eliminated the Raiders Tuesday, 7-5 in the MIAA Division 2 East Sectional State Tournament quarterfinals. 

 In 2006, the  boys' lacrosse team defeated Medfield in the East Division 2 tournament and went on to capture the state title.

Since then, and that tradition continued Tuesday. It took a fourth-quarter rally, but Medfield found a way to prevail over the bracket's top seed and keep its streak against the Raiders intact. 

“I would like to say it was my unbelievable coaching, but I think it was just their motivation,” Medfield head coach Bob Aronson said. “We have only seven seniors but they’re all focused and motivated.”

The ninth-seeded Warriors beat a Wellesley team that entered Tuesday's quarterfinal game unbeaten at 17-0 but again could not get over the rather large hump that is Medfield. Despite the difficult exit from the state tournament, Wellesley head coach Rocky Batty said he looks forward to games against the Warriors. 

“As hard it is to say, I love playing Medfield in June,” he said. “We did everything to give us a leg up in a home game ... I still want to play them. We’ll play them every June if we can. It’s an after Memorial Day tradition we want to have."

Medfield (14-7) now faces No. 4 Foxboro (19-3) in the semi-finals. The game is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. in Foxboro. 

The Raiders (17-1) held a 4-2 advantage heading into the fourth quarter, but the Warriors rallied. 

At the 11:06 mark, junior attack Connor Roddy rifled a 20-foot shot past Wellesley goalkeeper Connor Darcey during a man-up advantage. Moments later, Roddy cut in front of the net and tallied his second man-up goal to tie the game at four. 

The Warriors were not finished as they would score their third goal in two minutes. Behind the net, sophomore Andrew Melvin maneuvered around his defender, went to the front, drawing the attention of Darcey, and passed to Peter Gill, who found the back meshing.   

Less than a minute later, Medfield augmented its lead to 6-4 with Calvin Given intercepting a clear pass and running in to score unassisted. 

Wellesley would get one goal back when Peter Crane beat Medfield goalkeeper Sam Aronson top right, but Medfield would land the knockout punch at the 5:34 mark as Given netted his second of the day. 

“That’s a good team,” said Batty. “When we gave them transition, when we couldn’t clear the ball, they beat us. And I give them all the credit. A lot of heart. That’s a state champion who knows how to do it.”