2018 Mid-Mass Lacrosse League All-Stars

Senior goalie Dan Hollis is just one of many Hopedale stars selected to this season's Mid-Mass All-Star team.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The 2018 regular season is nearly in the books, and the Mid-Mass Lacrosse League has released its All-Star team following a banner year for the league.

League champion Grafton will look to get back to the Division 3 state championship game for a fourth consecutive year, and the Indians will be joined by fellow Mid-Mass squads Nipmuc, Hopedale and Tantasqua in the postseason.



If your league has released its All-Star team, feel free to pass that along to me at my Twitter handle above, or email it over to jparello86@gmail.com.

Continue below for the complete Mid-Mass All-Star team!

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: The End of 2017

It's hard to deny the significance of what coach Alan Rotatori (right) and his Grafton Indians have done the last three years, but is Grafton our top team in CMass this season?

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The state championships have come and gone, and another season of Central Mass lacrosse is in the books. It was a year of surprises, memorable runs and, unfortunately, tragedy, with the passing of former Tantasqua coach John Pedace.

While it was a bitter sweet season for many in the region, several teams did make their presence known at the state level, some for the very first time. So, without further ado, here are our final Central Mass Lax Power Rankings of 2017. Be on the lookout for our annual CMass All-Stars and Award Winners later this week.

Wachusett and Turners Falls Softball Earn State Final Berths

By John McGuirk (@patsfan1313)

AMHERST - This was typical fashion for Wachusett Regional.

A solid pitching performance parlayed with timely hitting allowed the Mountaineers to punch their ticket into the Division 1 softball finals for the first time in school history.

In a game where nothing would be settled through seven innings, Wachusett went the extra mile by plating a pair of runs in its half of the eighth to down Minnechaug 2-0 in the state semifinal played Tuesday at UMass' Sortino Field.

Wachusett (21-3) will square off versus Milford (24-1) in the title game on Saturday at Worcester's Rockwood Field at a time to be determined. The Scarlet Hawks defeated Newton North 3-0 in their state semifinal on Tuesday evening.

As expected, this tilt instantly transformed into a solid pitching affair. Wachusett ace Liv Strasser and Falcons sophomore Katelyn Thompson put forth a major duel inside the circle all throughout. Neither willing to show her hand to the other.

Hopedale Softball Wins Division 3 Central Mass Title

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

WORCERSTER, Mass. - It took nine innings to decide but the Blue Raiders did just enough to come away victorious as they downed top-seed Blackstone Valley Tech 2-1 in the Division 3 Central Mass. final. 

No. 6 Hopedale (16-8), winning its first district title since 2015, will now face the ultimate test on Tuesday when it squares off against eight-time state champion Turners Falls at UMass-Amherst beginning at 3 p.m.Turners Falls, winners of the past two state finals, blew out Mount Everett 15-1 in the Western Mass. title game on Saturday.

Laforge Lifts Tyngsboro Lax Past Hopedale in Triple-Overtime

By Mike Abelson (@ABELS0N)

TYNGSBORO - You only play your first state tournament game once, and the Hopedale Blue Raiders left one whale of a first impression.

The fourth-year program took Tyngsboro’s best shot, and made two big comebacks, before the Tigers found the shot they needed to pull off a wild 11-10 triple-overtime win under a baking hot Sun.

The Blue Raiders trailed 6-3 at halftime and 10-8 with three minutes left in the game, but battled back both times during this thrilling Division 3 Central/East quarterfinal.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 7

Grafton junior goalie Matt Nicalek

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Like I said last week, it's too late in the year for lengthy introductions, but this week does bring a new No. 1 team in our Power Rankings, and the league races across Central Mass are starting to stabilize.

Continue below for this week's Top 10.

Tantasqua Edges Hopedale in Back-to-Back Games

Left: Tantasqua junior midfielder Tom Muir (photo by John Pedace). Right: Hopedale junior goalie Dan Hollis (photo by Joe Parello).

By SuiteSports Staff

Ed. Note- This story is a collection of observations and stats provided by parents and coaches from both Tantasqua and Hopedale.

Thanks to some early season rain-outs, teams across the region are packing as many games into May as they possibly can. Tantasqua and Hopedale lacrosse were no different, as the Mid-Mass. foes had to face each other twice in a span of three days, leading to one absolute classic, and another game where the young Blue Raiders ran out of gas.

In the end, Tantasqua won at Hopedale 12-11 on Tuesday, then won on their home field against the Blue Raiders 9-5 on Thursday.

Here are a few notes from both of the Tantasqua (10-4, 7-3 Mid-Mass.) vs Hopedale (11-3, 4-3 Mid-Mass.) games this week.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 6

Jared Collari (1) and Griffin Shoemaker (3) are just two of Littleton's many weapons.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It's too late in the season for lengthy introductions, so I'll just say that this week brings a matchup of the top two teams in our Power Rankings.

Check out our latest Top 10 below as a huge week for CMass lax begins.

RADIO: Hopedale Lacrosse, Sean Sweeney, Adam Jones at Fenway, and Star Wars

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We had a great many things to discuss on this week's episode of "The Local Sports Lunchbox" on WPKZ. First, our buddy Sean Sweeney from the Sentinel & Enterprise called in to discuss the local baseball scene, and then we were joined by the stars of Hopedale lacrosse. The Blue Raiders are just one win away from the program's first ever tournament berth, as they prepare to play Blackstone Valley Tech.

Of course, I also had to pepper everyone with inane Star Wars questions since it is May 4th (May the Fourth Be With You!), and go off on a tangent about Adam Jones and the alleged racial slurs hurled at him earlier this week at Fenway Park. That's the end of the show, so if you don't want any non-high school stuff, just listen until the final few minutes.

Anyways, continue below for all that, and more, on this week's show.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 5

Nipmuc is the last remaining unbeaten in Central Mass after a wild week.  Photo courtesy of @NipmucHSLax

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Just when you think you've got the region figured out… Wow, did last week give us a lot to think about, and there was a great deal of movement in our rankings as a result.

Let's not waste any time. Continue below for this week's Top 10.

Postgame Blog: Grafton Too Much for Up-and-coming Hopedale

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

GRAFTON - Hopedale came into Thursday's clash with Mid-Mass. power Grafton undefeated, but the host Indians proved too much for the young program, running away with a 13-5 victory.

Led by four goals by junior Steve Rotatori, Grafton built an early 7-0 advantage, and never looked back. Grafton (9-2, 5-1 Mid-Mass.), was simply too much, controlling possession, and creating shots at will early on, whether it was through the pinpoint passing of guys like Anthony D'Angelo, or the dodging of players like Jimmy Donadio and Brendan Coates.

Basically, Grafton was playing loose and still riding high off of Tuesday's come-from-behind win over regional favorite St. John's.

PHOTO GALLERY: Grafton vs Hopedale Lacrosse

Photos by Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Grafton handed upstart Hopedale its first loss of the season Tuesday, topping the Blue Raiders by a final score of 13-5 at Grafton High School in a critical Mid-Mass. clash.

I'll have a postgame blog up later tonight, but for now, enjoy the sights of the game. Note that you can click any image to enlarge, and launch a slideshow.

Postgame Blog: Luccini's Game-Winner Pushes Hopedale Past Northbridge

Hopedale's Noah Luccini (19) looks for room against Northbridge

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Fueled by a 3-0 fourth quarter run, Hopedale defeated league foe Northbridge 8-7 after attackman Noah Luccini fought through three Ram defenders to score the go-ahead goal with 1:20 to play.

The Blue Raiders (9-9) then won the ensuing face-off, and killed off the final 80 seconds with a combination of precise passing, and hard running around their offensive zone. The win puts Hopedale within a single victory of the first playoff berth in the program's three-year history, and pushes Northbridge (5-8) to the brink of elimination.