Before a crowd of over 1,000, St. John's Prep halted the 99-game win streak of Duxbury against MIAA boys lacrosse competition, 12-10, in a regular-season confrontation between the Bay State's top Division 1 squads.
John Jennings scored five goals for the unbeaten Eagles (12-0) and Bobby Gallahue and Garrett Campbell added three each for the visitors who soared to a 5-0 lead in the first nine minutes to quickly stun the five-time state champions.
The Dragons (10-3) did not go down easily, closing to within 6-4 at halftime on tighter defense and two goals by Jake Harvey and one each by Syracuse-bound midfielder Hakeem Lecky and Kane Harvey.
In the first five minutes of the third quarter the Dragons surged ahead, 7-6, after another Harvey score, a scoop shot on a recovered ground ball by Mike Griffey and a fast-break play from Lecky who delivered a pass to Harvey for his fourth goal.
But the Eagles responded with three unanswered goals of their own, recapturing the advantage, 9-7, on a Jennings tally sandwiched between two more Campbell scores.
Lecky unleashed a shot from 10 yards out to trim the margin to 9-8. But two Eagle goals in the next 79 seconds, first by John Siderewicz and another by Campbell, cemented the outcome. Eagle goalie Nick Saventi (14 saves) also turned away four attempts in the final moments when the Dragons applied the pressure.
"We tried to downplay it (the streak) coming in," Duxbury coach Chris Sweet said. "Obviously the fans didn’t because a lot of them showed up. I’d like to think it was to watch us win our 100th, but it just didn’t happen. I told them to keep their heads high and we’ll get back to work Monday. We’ve got a streak of five state championships that we’re really focused on."
“We’re only 12-0 and it’s not easy because people start focusing on you," Eagles' head coach John Roy said. "But it’s like this every week for Duxbury with people getting geared up for their games. If they’ve won 99 straight, people aren’t expecting us to win so we didn’t really have much to lose. It's good, it's awesome, it was a huge win and it was great competition between two evenly matched teams."
Sweet added he'd embrace an opportunity to play the Eagles again.
"We're not going to win many games going down 5-0, but I'm proud of how our guys battled back. If we are lucky enough to advance in the playoffs I hope to be in a position to play them again or anyone else."
Boys Lacrosse: Longmeadow scuffling against top-notch competition
Undefeated Medfield still has a way to go before exacting revenge for its loss to Longmeadow last season in the Division 2 state finals. But it took a step in the right direction by handing the Lancers their second straight loss, 13-4, behind four goals and two assists by Kyle Foster and three goals and two assists by Jack McDermott.
Undefeated Westfield jolted the Lancers, 12-11, the day before on five goals and an assist by Tim Boersig and three scores and three assists by J.T. Hoyt in western Massachusetts Division 2 action. Alessio Calabrese also made key saves in the final moments for the Bombers. The Lancers' all-time leading scorer, University of Massachusetts-bound Kyle Smith, had three goals and two assists while football stars Niko Sierra and Alex Scyocurka also contributed three goals.
Longmeadow, now 6-5 and a 17-time state champion, has also lost against some top prep competition in a grueling schedule this season, including nationally-ranked Deerfield Academy, Pinkerton and Hotchkiss.
Girls Lacrosse: Longmeadow topples Westwood
Lauren Halpern had three goals and two assists to help host Longmeadow derail Westwood, defending state champions, 9-5. The Lancers, 2007 state titlists, lost to the Wolverines in the 2008 state championship. Westwood was led by Northwestern-bound Kelly Rich, who led the Wolverines with three goals in the loss.
Baseball: Few unbeatens remain
* Lincoln-Sudbury extended its unbeaten streak to 10 after beating Acton-Boxboro, 12-3, in Dual County League competition. A three-run double by Mike Antonellis in a five-run first inning was all the runs the Warriors would need.
* Hopedale kept up its perfect record by edging out Douglas, 10-9, on a sacrifice by Kevin Espanet in the seventh inning. Espanet also had three RBI with Joe Mantoni driving in four runs on three hits and Dan Bresciani contributing a triple and double.
* Zach Littman pitched a five-hitter for Abington (10-0) in a 12-3 win over Carver.
* West Boylston has won 10 straight against no losses after blasting Tahanto, 23-3, including a 16-run third inning. Blake Perron led the Lions' offensive assault with a two-run homer and four RBI.
* Colin O'Neal had three hits and two RBI and Tim Alben added two RBI as East Longmeadow improved to 12-0 after a 9-5 victory over Northampton in Suburban League play.
