L-S again favorites
Defending champion aims for third in a row
The Lincoln-Sudbury boys lacrosse team has dealt with the target on its back all season long, and hasn’t wavered one bit. It’s that type of confidence which makes the Warriors a clear-cut favorite to win their third straight Division 1 state title.
Aside from a narrow 7-5 loss to New Jersey power Summit, L-S roared down the stretch with seven consecutive wins, including an impressive 9-1 win over Duxbury.
Lincoln-Sudbury will face some early challenges on its side of the bracket from possibly Billerica and Reading. On the other side of the draw, Andover and Acton-Boxboro appear to be on a collision course to meet in the sectional semifinals.
In the South, BC High clearly played its best ball in the second half, winning nine straight games, several coming against top-flight competition. Franklin and Xaverian meet in what should be a premier first-round tilt, while Newton North also lurks in that quarter of the draw.
The stiffest challenges should come from either Needham or Duxbury. Needham won 13 of its final 14 games with the one loss coming to Div. 2 power Hingham. The Dragons went 3-3 in a late-season six-game stretch, but look for this team to use the postseason as a chance to show its true mettle.
In Div. 2, Medfield has held a vise lock on the state title, winning the past three championships. The road to a fourpeat is loaded with dangerous obstacles.
In Medfield’s own section, the Div. 2 Central/East. Hopkinton defeated Medfield twice during the season and lurks on the Warriors’ side of the bracket along with a sleeper in Wayland. Top-seed Walpole could be looking at either North Attleboro or Concord-Carlisle in the semis.
The team everyone is watching, and with good reason, is Hingham. The overwhelming favorite in Div. 2 South, the Harbormen ended the season on a nine-game winning streak, including wins over Needham, Marshfield, Hanover and a Glastonbury team ranked No. 2 in Connecticut.
Undefeated Wakefield is the favorite in Div. 2 North, but will likely be looking at some familiar faces from the Middlesex League. The Warriors could face either Melrose or Burlington in the semifinals, and possibly defending sectional champion Winchester in the finals.
Dover-Sherborn should come out Div. 3 Central/East with little problem in its quest to take home a third straight state title.
The toughest challenge could come from a Hanover team which loaded its schedule with top-notch competition. Three of its four losses came to Div.1 teams, while the fourth one was a seasonopening 14-10 setback to Dover-Sherborn.
Cohasset gave Hanover a good battle in the regular season finale, losing 7-5. Cardinal Spellman is another program on the rise, putting together a solid 16-4 season.
Div. 3 North is essentially the Cape Ann League Invitational, as six of the top seven seeds hail from there. Hamilton-Wenham would love to avenge its one loss, a lopsided setback to Ipswich, a team it wouldn’t see until the finals.
Austin Prep won eight straight in the second half of the season and figures to be the team with the best chance of cracking the CAL monopoly.