RECAP & PHOTOS: Shrewsbury Holds off Tantasqua to Advance in D2 Central/West

Photos and Story by Ryan Morgera (@RyanMor_ASSCO)

Ed. Note- Continue to the bottom of this story for even more actions shots from Shrewsbury and Tantasqua's playoff clash. Also note that you can click any image in this story to enlarge, and launch a slideshow.

Worcester, Mass. - The Shrewsbury Colonials beat the Tantasqua Warriors, 11-7, Tuesday night at Assumption College in what was a great taste of what Central Mass playoff lacrosse has to offer.

Tantasqua’s Tom Muir came into the game with 46 goals and 24 assists on the year, and his impact would be seen early as he started the scoring with back-to-back goals to put the Warriors up 2-0. Shrewsbury’s Mason Kohn then matched him with back-to back goals to tie the game up. The score at the end of the first quarter was 2-2.

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!

Tantasqua Holds off Westboro

By Joe Fantozzi (@joe_fantozzi35)

Westboro, Mass. - On Friday afternoon, the visiting Tantasqua Warriors defeated the host Westborough Rangers 11-7 in an early season CMass lax clash. 

Tantasqua goalie Michael Lucas held off Westboro with 14 saves, while senior captain Tom Muir led the Warrior offense, scoring five goals to help his team earn the victory. 

Come Out for the "Be Legendary" Lacrosse Family Fun Day

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

This week brings a great event for those looking to honor the memory of late Tantasqua lacrosse coach John Pedace, and help a worthy cause.

Thursday from 4 to 6 pm at the Brookings School in Springfield will be the first ever "Be Legendary" Lacrosse Family Fun day, with all profits going to support local programs and activities for underprivileged kids in the Springfield area, including potentially helping a few local lacrosse programs get off the ground. The event was organized by coach Pedace's niece Cecelia, her friend Julia and, of course, his sister Gianna.

For those wondering why the event won't be near Tantasqua, well, John was kind of a big deal throughout the state.

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.

RADIO: Remembering Tantasqua Lacrosse Coach John Pedace

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

On a somber episode of "The Local Sports Lunchbox" on WPKZ, I was joined by the Telegram & Gazette's Carl Setterlund to honor the memory of former Tantasqua lacrosse coach John Pedace, who tragically passed away Wednesday after a long battle with cancer.

Though we only got to know him as reporters, we'll give you our favorite memories of coach Pedace, and talk a little bit about how he impacted the Tantasqua and local sports community.

Also on the show, the T&G's Chris Kyne calls in to discuss all the big high school happenings this weekend, including the Central Mass finals for baseball, softball and lacrosse, plus St. John's making a run at the Super 8.

All that, and more, in this week's episode below.

Law's Game-Winner Leads Tantasqua Lax Past Shrewsbury in 2OT

By Nick Beaudoin (@beaudoin91_)

SHREWSBURY - Tonight’s Division 2 Central/West second round matchup between the Colonials of Shrewsbury and the Warriors of Tantasqua was a thriller. Tantasqua prevailed in a matchup that featured double overtime, where Anthony Law scored the game-winner, sending the Warriors to the next round with a 10-9 victory.

What stood out tonight was the play of both goaltenders. Shrewsbury’s Mike Fornal and Tantasqua’s Mike Lucas both played phenomenally and kept their respective teams in the game for the duration.

RADIO: Tantasqua Lax, Leominster Baseball & New St. Peter-Marian Football Coach Justin McKay

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It was a jam-packed show this week on WPKZ, as we had three very special guests on "The Local Sports Lunchbox." First, the legendary Voice of Doyle Field, Dick Tucker joined us in the studio to disuss Leominster baseball's magical run to a Mid-Wach A title, and the Blue Devils' postseason prospects. Then, we were joined on the phone by the stars of Tantasqua lacrosse, who are once again tournament-bound.

Finally, new St. Peter-Marian football coach Justin McKay called in to tell us why he took the Guardian job after five years coaching Algonquin (he still teaches at Algonquin), and offer his thoughts on one of his former players, Wachusett alum Tyler Catalina, who recently signed with the Washington Redskins.

For all that, and much, much more, continue below.

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.

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.

PHOTO GALLERY: Grafton vs Tantasqua Lacrosse

Tantasqua junior middie Tom Muir looks for space against Grafton's talented and experienced defense.

Photos by John Pedace

Ed. Note- SuiteSports is thrilled an honored to welcome a very special new contributor, former Tantasqua lacrosse coach John Pedace. For those who don't know, the beloved coach is battling yet another round of cancer, but still managed to watch his guys take on the Grafton Indians yesterday.

Tantasqua came up short in their upset bid, falling to Grafton 17-6, but the Warriors have a ton of firepower, and will no doubt be in the thick of things until the end of the season.

Continue below for a few more shots from yesterday's action, and click any image to enlarge and open a slideshow.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: Week 2

Tantasqua's senior attack trio of Anthony Law, Ben Beaudry and Mike Frio is off to a hot start.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

As you might expect, there was tremendous movement from Week 1 to Week 2 in our Power Rankings. Only top-ranked St. John's is ranked in the same spot as last week, as a slew of upsets and close calls shook up our Top-10.

Check out this week's rankings below.

Central Mass Lax Power Rankings: The Start of 2017

Grafton is coming off back-to-back district titles and state championship game appearances, but with plenty of talent gone to graduation, the Indians will need to find new stars in 2017.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Ah, it's that time of year.

The weather is going back and forth from beautiful to horrid, and I now get to pretend I know how the Central Mass lacrosse season will go.

This year is especially tricky as, outside of St. John's, it seems like every team is losing multiple star players. But, at the same time, many of the best players in the region are back, and nearly all of them will have to carry even bigger loads in 2017.

I'd love to cop out and wait a few weeks to do my first Power Rankings, but that's way too easy. So, with many teams across the region set to open their schedules today, here are my first Power Rankings of the year, which I'm sure will look silly in a few weeks.

RADIO: Previewing the 2017 Central Mass Lacrosse Season

Jack Donahue (3) and Drew Kozub (6) should give St. John's one of the most explosive attacks in the state.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

I decided to do something a little different this year, and use my radio show on WPKZ to break down the upcoming Central Mass lacrosse season.

Listen in below for a league-by-league breakdown of CMass lax, with key teams and players to watch. Excuse my occasionally terrible name pronunciations, I promise to get better as the year goes on.

Note that the lacrosse preview takes place across the show's first and third segments, with special guest Sean Sweeney of the Sentinel & Enterprise popping in for the second segment to break down the end of winter sports, and preview baseball/softball.

2017 Central Mass Lacrosse Preseason All-Stars

Westboro attackman Trevor McNamara will look to build off a monster junior campaign.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

It may not always feel like it, but spring has sprung here in the Heart of the Commonwealth, and that means it's time to start talking Central Mass lacrosse.

Though SuiteSports will now be covering the entire state for both lacrosse and baseball (we're expanding!), you know I've got you covered with the best CMass lax coverage you're gonna get anywhere. Be on the lookout for team/league previews, an updated recruiting database, and our first Power Rankings, all coming soon.

Without further ado, here are our preseason CMass All-Stars.

Postgame Blog and Highlights: Tantasqua Outlasts Marlboro

Tantasqua's junior attack trio of Anthony Law (17), Ben Beaudry (24) and Mike Frio (19) combined for eight goals and eight assists in Tuesday's win at Marlboro.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Behind an offensive explosion, Tantasqua won a playoff shootout with Marlboro 18-16, advancing to the second round of the Division 2 Central/West tournament.

The visiting Warriors (15-6) used precise passing to find holes in Marlboro's (15-4) defense all day, led by junior Ben Beaudry, who finished the day with four assists and a pair of goals.

The game was a back-and-forth affair at first, with the teams tied at four early in the second quarter. But, a pair of mid-game Tantasqua runs would push this thing out of reach. First, the Warriors went on a 5-0 run until the final minutes of the first half, then opened the second half on a 5-0 run as well.

In all, Tantasqua outscored Marlboro 10-1 over 12 minutes of game time from the mid-second to mid-third quarter, and turned a tie game into a 14-5 advantage.

Now, here are a few of my rambling thoughts, along with some video highlights below.

Postgame Blog: Grafton Sends a Message Against Tantasqua

Grafton senior attackmen Hunter Fraser (4) and Chase Kapuscienski (25).

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

After splitting its season series with Tantasqua, and sharing a league title last year, Grafton left no doubt that it was the team to beat in Mid-Mass, running past Tantasqua 17-1 Thursday.

"Last year Tantasqua bought hats that said, 'Mid-Mass Champions,' and we shared the title, so that kind of ticked us off," Grafton captain Chase Kapuscienski said. "So we came in here, and we wanted to pound them into the ground, and that's what we did."

I could give you a complete game story, but all you need to know is that Grafton (4-0, 3-0 Mid-Mass) was firing on all cylinders, and played like a team on a mission. The Indians were loose during pregame and at halftime, but once the whistle blew, Grafton played with extreme focus, dominating Tantasqua (0-2, 0-2 Mid-Mass) in all phases, en route to a blowout home win.

Here are a few quick stats, and then we'll delve a little deeper.

CMass Lax Power Rankings: Week 2

St. John's senior middie Andrew Cox will be key for the re-built Pioneers this year.

By Joe Parello (@HerewegoJoe)

Thanks to inclement weather, last week was largely a wash (pun sort of intended) for Central Mass lacrosse, but we did get a few games in, and there was some shakeup in our Power Rankings.

Let's not waste any time with introductions. Here are this week's Power Rankings, complete with a power program rising, and two new teams in the Top-10.