Massachusetts Talent Propels Merrimack to NCAA D2 Lax Title Game

After a decorated career at Longmeadow, which included an undefeated D2 state championship run, long pole Dan Cotnoir hopes to bring an NCAA D2 national championship to Merrimack. But the former Lancer is just one of many Massachusetts products hoping to lead the Warriors to victory in their home state.  Photo courtesy of Merrimack Athletics.

By Michael Abelson (@ABELS0N)

Foxborough, Mass. - Sports are cruel.

Last year, the Merrimack men’s lacrosse team advanced to its first NCAA Division II title game, and had the lucky draw of playing in the Commonwealth at Gillette Stadium.

The Warriors let a lead slip away late and lost to Limestone.

This year, though, the Warriors are back in the title game, and return to Foxboro better than ever with a team getting contributions up and down the lineup from Bay State natives. Merrimack's second consecutive title game in Massachusetts will take place Sunday at 4 pm against No. 6 St. Leo.

Thanks to the wealth of local talent, coach Mike Morgan believes his group is capable of leaving Gillette Stadium victorious this season.

MIAA Top 25 Boys Lacrosse Poll: The End of 2017

Lincoln-Sudbury remained the king of MIAA Lacrosse with an 8-7 state finals win over BC High

Our rankings of the best teams in the state at the end of the 2017 lacrosse season, as selected by our panel of staff writers and correspondents. (Updated 6/19)

1. Lincoln-Sudbury (19-1; Last Ranking - 1): The Warriors' third consecutive state championship was the sweetest of them all, as their overlooked senior class went out on top.

2. Hingham (23-3; Last Ranking - 3): Harbormen capped a dominant regular season with a 16-7 thrashing of Longmeadow in D2 State Final. Those wishing to see Hingham vs. L-S could get their wish when the Harbormen re-classify to D1 next season.

3. BC High (19-4; Last Ranking - 6): Eagles won 13 straight to earn rematch with L-S in D1 State Final, but came up just short in an 8-7 thriller.  

PHOTO GALLERY: Hingham Boys' Lax Wins D2 State Title

Photos by Brendan Hall (@BHallESPN)

You can check out our full story on Hingham's win over Longmeadow at BU, but now, take a look at these pictures from our Brendan Hall.

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.

PHOTO GALLERY: Needham Girls' Lax vs Longmeadow in D1 State Title Game

Photos by Ethan Winter (@EWints)

You can check out our full story on Needham's state championship win at BU, but for now, take a look at these pictures from our Ethan Winter.

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.