The Walpole High boys lacrosse team was on the verge of making history at Turco Field yesterday.
The Rebels knew it, and opposing Wellesley, who has owned the Bay State Conference Herget Division seemingly forever, also knew it.
All the Rebels had to do was to get past the Raiders, and they would not only have their first ever solo Bay State Conference championship, but probably their first ever unbeaten regular season since their final opponent, Framingham, only had two wins heading into the final week of the season.
Of course the Raiders weren’t about to make it easy, and they didn’t. After an 8-1 loss to the Rebels in Wellesley earlier in the year and still holding out a hope of at least tying again for the league title, the Raiders meant business and played like it.
In what may have biggest win to date in Walpole High history, the Rebels outlasted a Raider comeback to eke out a thrilling 7-6 victory, their 17th win against no losses.
As usual, senior captain Cameron Crown made a series of spectacular saves, but was often matched by Wellesley’s Tim Burke, especially in the fourth quarter as the Raiders closed the gap.
Walpole’s solid defense, led by Ryan Whittemore, Connor Whittemore, Mike Connors and Peter Bowes did its best to frustrate the Raiders, especially Chris Curtin, whom they clamped down on in the second half after he scored twice, including the first goal of the game, in the first half.
The game, however, belonged to senior captain Greg Nash, who worked his way in for a game-high four goals, including some at crucial periods. Nash was among a group of classmates who shrugged off senioritis to focus on the title and remain focused on the upcoming postseason.
“To win big games like this, it starts with senior leadership,” said Walpole coach Jason Andalo. “We had key guys step up, and a lot of other factors came into play today. We tried to get certain match-ups and we did, like Mike Connors on Peter Jennings and Peter Bowes on Bryan Cahn. We felt if we could do that, we would give ourselves a shot.”
There was little needed to get the Raiders up for the game either, according to coach Rocky Batty.
“It was a great game against a great team,” said Batty. “We gave Walpole everything they could handle, and they gave it right back to us. And there were two hot goalies. Our kid played a great game, and I thought Cameron Crown stood on his head.”
Indeed, especially in the second half when the Rebels kept going a man down and tempted the hands of fate.
It didn’t take long for a charged-up Wellesley team to take command, scoring just 1:16 into the game when Chris Patten (2 goals, 2 assists) set up midfielder Chris Curtin (2 goals) in front.
Nash came right back just 25 seconds with an unassisted goal after Davis Butts won the faceoff and he and Ryan Izzo ignited a fast break. But Wellesley forged ahead 2-1 with 9:38 left in the first quarter, again with just 41 seconds elapsing
With the first quarter winding down and the Raiders getting all the momentum, it was Nash once more reviving the offense and knotting the score with 4:03 left, converting a pass from Paul Orecchio. Brian Orecchio gave the home team its first lead with 2:32 left on a set-up from Izzo.
The Raiders played extremely tough, especially midfielder Jennings, who squared off repeatedly with Butts on the faceoffs. Butts was relentless, however, winning seven of the 10 he took in the first half, a key to Walpole outscoring the Raiders 3-1 in the second quarter.
Jennings did help the Raiders tie once more at the start of the second quarter, however. After Butts won the opening faceoff of the period, he was checked off the ball and Jennings scooped it, carried it into the zone and set up Curtin on right wing 12 feet out.
Butts won the ensuing face-ff, though, and the second quarter was all Walpole from then on. The Rebels got a huge play a couple of minutes in from Connors, who knocked the ball from Jennings and forced him out of bounds for a turnover.
A couple of minutes later they took the lead for good when Leo Ajemian passed to Butts on his right and went straight for the net, taking the ball back from Butts for a score with 7:26 left in the half. The goal came moments after Crown made a sensational stop on Curtin.
Butts won the faceoff, and 29 seconds after setting up Ajemian, made it 5-3 with an unassisted tally. A couple of minutes later the Rebels went a man down and killed it off, and with 12 seconds left they went a man up.
The Raiders weren’t so fortunate, as Nash, set up again by Paul Orecchio, drilled a shot from left wing into the far side of the net with four seconds until the horn.
Already having scored two big goals, Nash scored his biggest at the start of the last half. With 6:47 left in the third, Brian Orecchio came from behind the net, faked a wraparound and then slipped a pass out front to Nash. His fourth goal ended up being the game winner as the Raiders made a furious comeback that stopped just short of tying.
The Raiders won the next faceoff and Patten closed to 7-4 eight seconds after, and Brendan Flynn netted a goal while a man up with 9:46 left. With 3:30 left Flynn scored on a low shot to the near post, and one could sense the nails being chewed in the stands.
“It’s good not to just be co-champs anymore,” said Crown, referring to last spring. “We knew they’d come out strong. It was a battle for big stakes and no one was taking it lightly.”
“It was a big team accomplishment, a great team effort and the whole thing is all about the team,” said Nash. “Wellesley played a great game, though; give all the credit to them. They’ll go far in the tourney.”
Having already set new team records for wins, championships and goals this year, the Rebels set a league record when they has eight players named to the Bay State Conference All-Star team. Senior Captains Nash and Ryan Whittemore were named to the first team, as were Butts and Mike Connors, and the second team includes Brian and Paul Orecchio, Izzo and Crown.
