Watertown wins ninth

WORCESTER — There are several givens in Massachusetts life: Dunkin’ Donuts coffee, snow and Watertown field hockey winning state titles.

For the ninth consecutive year, the Raiders (22-1) captured the Division 2 state championship, this time with a 5-1 victory over Oakmont (16-4) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute yesterday.

“It feels incredible,” said senior goaltender Jonna Kennedy, who will play next fall at Boston College. “Our team has come incredibly far from the start of preseason.”

It was a quick start for Watertown, who used a Gabby Venezia goal five minutes in to take a lead it never relinquished. Late in the first half, Sydney Poulin’s laser shot found the back of the cage to put the Raiders up 2-0 headed into intermission.

Fired up, Maddie Leitner netted a goal just 1:30 into the second half and Watertown began running away with the game.

Poulin added a second goal before Oakmont got on the board through Maddie Moran with 14 minutes left. But the tally couldn’t spur a run, and Leitner scored again to reestablish a four-goal Raiders lead.

Kennedy, Poulin and Leitner end their Watertown careers with four state titles and only one loss. It’s a mark Kennedy knows is quite a feat, even for a team where excellence is expected.

“Winning a state title is a huge deal, let alone winning four,” said Kennedy. “We’re still taking time to soak it all in.”

Andover 2, Longmeadow 0 — The Golden Warriors (22-0-1) captured their first Div.1 state title in six years by beating the perennial West champion Lancers (19-1-2) at WPI.

“I feel that this was a great team led by a wonderful group of seniors,” said Andover coach Maureen Noone. “They were methodical in planning and preparing in each of the different parts of the season.”

Andover’s play was consistent throughout the postseason, and their steadiness paid off yesterday.

After a scoreless first half, Andover took the lead two minutes after the restart when freshman Hanna Medwar roofed a shot.

“The younger kids stepped up in every way we asked them to,” said Noone.

Nine minutes later, senior Julia Carzo had a shot that hit a Lancers defender and caromed into the net for a 2-0 lead.

At that point, the Golden Warriors defense took over, limiting Longmeadow’s offensive opportunities and holding on for the victory.

For Noone, seeing her hard-working group of student-athletes finally take the top prize again was a wonderful experience.

“This was a special group of kids who created a great bond throughout the season,” she said.