Merrimack Runs Away with NCAA D2 Men's Lax National Title at Gillette

By Michael Abelson (@ABELS0N)

Foxborough, Mass. - It would have taken an act of god to keep the Merrimack men’s lacrosse team from hoisting the trophy as NCAA Division II champions, and that still might not have been enough.

One year after seeing their dreams slip away at Gillette Stadium, the Warriors returned to the same patch of earth and left no stone unturned, as they took apart Saint Leo 23-6 to claim the program’s first ever national title.

The 23 goals tied for the most ever in a national final regardless of division. The Warriors now share the record with 1977 Hobart and 1980 UMBC.

West Springfield Keeps Rolling, Takes Care of Longmeadow in D5 West Final

By John McGuirk (@Patsfan1313)

HOLYOKE — Who else but Vaunell Hill?

With West Springfield clinging to a meer three point lead just a handful of minutes into the third quarter, the Terriers turned to their top running back to become the difference maker. 

Hill's 68 yard dash down the left sideline midway through the quarter gave West Side the added cushion it was seeking as they proceeded to leave Longmeadow in its rearview in the form of a 42-18 victory during in Friday night's Division 5 sectional final held at Roberts Stadium.

Hingham Defeats Longmeadow for D2 Boys Lax State Title

By Brendan Hall (@BHallESPN)

BOSTON – Hingham head coach John Todd didn’t hesitate to call this year’s Harbormen squad “The best team we’ve ever had here” repeatedly following Saturday’s MIAA Division 2 State Final at Nickerson Field, and anyone who followed the team this spring would be hard-pressed to disagree.

And so after all those years of heartbreak – all those state championship game letdowns, all those epic overtime losses to Medfield, all those years coming up just a goal or two short – Todd conceded a sense of relief in being able to capture the program’s first title in 15 years, with his best senior class ever, in such dominating fashion, routing Western Mass. juggernaut Longmeadow 16-7.

Needham Girls Lax Gets Defensive to Win D1 State Championship

By Jake Levin (@JakeLevin477)

BOSTON — If you’re going to go over 20 minutes in the second half without scoring a goal, you’d better have a top-notch defense capable of picking up the slack.

Such was the case for the Needham Rockets, a team which weathered a lengthy scoring drought in the second half by limiting its mistakes on the back end in an 8-5 win over the Longmeadow Lancers on Saturday afternoon to capture a Division 1 state championship.

Previews & Picks: The 2017 MIAA Boys' Lacrosse Championships

Grafton will look to bring home its first state championship ever, but the Indians will have their hands full with high-powered Hingham in the D3 title game.

By SuiteSports Staff

The championship breakfasts are over, Boston University's Nickerson Field is set, and six different boys' lacrosse teams from across Massachusetts are ready to play for state championships this Saturday.

To prepare you, SuiteSports asked its editors and lead lacrosse reporters how they saw each game shaking out. Here is what they said.

PHOTO GALLERY: Longmeadow Lax vs Medfield in D2 State Semis

Photos by Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

CONCORD - You can click here for a full recap of Longmeadow's victory over dynastic Medfield, but first, scroll down for shots of the Lancers' big win from our Ryan Bowman.

Note that you can click any image to enlarge and launch a slideshow.

Longmeadow Edges Dynastic Medfield in D2 State Semifinal

By Nate Weitzer (@nweitzer7)

CONCORD - Suffering a 15-3 loss to Lincoln-Sudbury on May 6 served as a bit of a wake-up call for the Longmeadow boys’ lacrosse team.

The Lancers proceeded to win 11 straight after that blowout en route to a Division 2 state semifinals matchup against another powerhouse program in Medfield, and continued their hot streak with a 13-9 victory over the three-time defending D2 state champions at Concord-Carlisle High. 

“You never have success out of another success, it comes out of failure,” said Longmeadow head coach Keith Campbell. “We had a big failure [against L-S] and I think it helped the coaching staff and players refocus on our goals. Adversity not only builds character, it shows your character, and these guys are young, but they have character.”

Longmeadow Wins Division 2 Central/West Once Again

By Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass. - Stop me if you have heard this one before; the Longmeadow Lancers are the D2 Central/West Champions. 

To complete their third title in a row, the Lancers ended the unexpected run from the Westfield Bombers and won 16-6. 

The Bombers had upset Minnechaug 5-4 in the quarterfinals, and shocked the Saint John’s Pioneers with an 8-7 victory in the semifinals, but were unable to complete the upset against the Lancers.

Longmeadow Wears Down St. John's (Shrewsbury) in Premier D2 Central/West Clash

Longmeadow's Clay Moseman fires a shot at St. John's goalie Matt Mongeau.

By Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

SHREWSBURY - What started off as a very even game developed into a lobsided 8-3 victory for the Longmeadow Lancers over the St. John's Pioneers Wednesday at St. John's High School in Shrewsbury.

These teams are very familiar with each other, having faced off in the D2 Central/West semifinals in 2015 and the finals last year, with both games won by the Lancers. Longmeadow (15-3) again emerged victorious Wednesday, while St. John's (12-3) was left looking for an elusive victory in this meeting between the premier lacrosse programs in Western and Central Massachusetts.

PHOTO GALLERY: Longmeadow Lacrosse vs St. John's (Shrewsbury)

Photos by Ryan Bowman (@_ryanbowman_)

We will have a full story up soon, but here are some images from Western Mass power Longmeadow's big win against rival St. John's (Shrewsbury). The win gives the Lancers the inside track to the top seed in Division 2 Central/West.

Continue below for images from today's game, and note that you can click any image to enlarge it and launch a slideshow.

Lincoln-Sudbury Runs Away from Longmeadow at Harvard Stadium

By Marisa Ingemi (@Marisa_Ingemi)

CAMBRIDGE - Lincoln-Sudbury proved why it is the top team in the state on Saturday with a resounding 15-3 victory over Western Mass power Longmeadow at Harvard Stadium. The Warriors (9-1) never looked back after a 2-0 lead and continued to build off of it with a strong second quarter. against the Lancers (9-3).

“We came out of the gate, which is something we were stressing hard,” said senior Jack Sutherland, who scored three goals. “Our mission for this game was to open the way we did, go hard, go fast off the opening whistle.”

Sutherland was one of three L-S seniors to tally three times along with Hayden Frey and Junior Almeida. Almeida also won 13 faceoffs and dominated from the dot.

Your 2017 MIAA Lacrosse Primer: Division 2

Medfield is used to celebrating, having won three consecutive D2 state title.  Photo from @Med_Lax

By Mike Abelson (@ABELS0N)

There is no more consistent program in Massachusetts lacrosse than Medfield. The three-time reigning Division 2 state champions have made high-level play on the field their calling card under head coach John Isaf.

This year the Warriors will, once again, be among those at the front of the D2 field in the quest to lift the trophy at Boston University, but Isaf is firmly planted in the present, as he will put together a team that lost three Division 1 talents last season- Kevin McCordic, Jack-Henry Vara, and John Maclean, as well as scorer Matt Trieber (Tufts) and starting goalie Kyle Gately (Hamilton).

“Number one, we’re not state champ,” Isaf said. “It’s 2017 and this team hasn’t done anything yet. We really don’t look at ourselves as state champs. This is a new team and a new season. We’re in pursuit, and we’re pursuing being the best team we can be. We have some good talent coming back.”

RECAP & PHOTOS: Nashoba Pulls Away From Longmeadow To Advance To D2 State Final

Scroll to the bottom for more photos, and click any image to enlarge. All photos by Brendan C. Hall.

By Jason Siegel (@jasiegel1821)

WORCESTER, Mass. - Throughout the season, the Nashoba Chieftains have found their rhythm on both sides of the ball after halftime, especially in the third quarter, to pull away from their opponents.

In the Division 2 State semifinal against Longmeadow, it took Nashoba (21-3) a little longer than usual, but the Chieftains outscored the Longmeadow Lancers (18-5) 25-16 in the fourth quarter en route to a 68-58 victory on Monday night at the DCU Center in Worcester.

MIAA Boys' Hoops State Semifinal Preview: Division 2

After falling in the state semifinals last year, Whitman-Hanson will look to break through against Brighton this season.

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We've already previewed both semifinal games in Division 1, so now it's time to dig into both the Eastern Mass title game, and Central/West state semifinal in Division 2. It's too late in the year for lengthy introductions, so let's get right to it.

Division 2 Eastern Mass Final

Brighton (21-5) vs. Whitman-Hanson (19-3)

Players to watch:
Brighton – Jordan Galloway, Sr., PG, Tyrone Perry, Sr., SF, Jerrod Clark, Sr., C. 
Whitman-Hanson – Nikko Raftes, Sr., SG, Luke Tamulevich, Sr., SG, Sean Leahy, Sr., SF.

Date/Time/Location: March 13th, 7:30 pm, TD Garden

Previewing the MIAA Boys' Hoops D2 Sectional Finals

Jerrod Clark and the Brighton Bengals have had some pep in their step this tournament season.

By Matt Feld (@mattyfeld612) and Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

We're getting down to the nitty gritty of the MIAA boys' basketball tournament, and the next few days will see sectional championship games played across all 16 sections.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves with all that. Here's our preview of the four sectional finals in Division 2. If you would like to read our Division 1 sectional final previews, you can find them here.

Postgame Blog: Marshfield Runs Away With D2 Championship

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

The Marshfield Rams left no doubt Saturday, smashing Longmeadow 45-6 to capture the MIAA Division 2 state football championship.

A powerful ground game set the tone for Marshfield, which rushed for six touchdowns, including two by senior quarterback Jack Masterson. He led the Rams with 103 yards on 10 carries.

Senior running back Jacob Maher also had a pair of scores to go with 69 yards on just 7 carries. It didn't seem to matter who was running the ball for Marshfield, as the Rams averaged an absurd 9.1 yards per rush attempt, constantly pushing the Lancer defensive line back and making defenders miss at the second level.

Massachusetts HS Football State Championship Preview: Divisions 1-3

Xaverian enters Gillette with the state's best defense, led by linebacker Kenny Kern (45) and defensive end Joe Gaziano (97)

By Mike Uva (@mike_uva)

Editor Joe Parello got us started with previews of the Massachusetts high school football state championship games for Divisions 4-6 earlier today, and now correspondent Mike Uva breaks down Divisions 1-3.

Let's get to it!

Division 1: Xaverian (11-0) vs. Everett (9-1), 1:30 pm

Week 2 Meeting: Xaverian 21, Everett 14 (9/13/2014)

Xaverian’s Road to Gillette:  
42-0 win against Attleboro
27-0 win against Bridgewater-Raynham
24-10 win against BC High

Everett’s Road to Gillette: 
42-21 win against Malden
55-41 win against Peabody
31-24 win against St. John’s Prep

After the phenomenal game between these teams back in week two, it’s only fitting there’s an encore.

Full Highlights: Longmeadow's Championship Win

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

It's been over two months since Longmeadow took home the Massachusetts division 2 boys lacrosse championship.

The Lancers completed a perfect season in coach Ryan Liebel's first year at the helm, and defeated Eastern Mass power Medfield for the title at Worcester's Foley Stadium. If you want to see the highlights I put together for BostonLaxNet, along with an excellent game story from Bruce Lerch, you can find those here. But, for every goal, and some dope music if I do say so myself, you can check out the full highlights below.

Postgame Blog: Longmeadow Captures D2 State Championship

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Here is your weekly reminder that this blog is only a few of my wandering thoughts from the game. If you would like a full recap, head to BostonLaxNet for a game story, highlights, and a sidebar on coach Ryan Liebel's perfect first season. That last story features video postgame interviews with Liebel, along with players Keegan Dudeck and Drew Kelleher.

Postgame Blog: Longmeadow Defeats St. John's in D2 Semifinal

The officials scolded Josh Freilich for this Superman pose, but I thought it was pretty awesome.

By Joe Parello  @HerewegoJoe

Here is your weekly reminder that this blog is only my wandering thoughts on the game. If you would like a full recap head to BostonLaxNet or ESPN Boston. The LaxNet story also includes video.

Anyways, here we go.