Walsh sisters fuel Franklin
Annie, Erin aiming high
Franklin coach Kristin Igoe Guarino heard the rumblings about Annie and Erin Walsh well before they entered high school, but the seismic chatter couldn’t quantify the impact the sisters would have on the program.
AT LACROSSE ROADS
Ever since they stepped on the field as freshmen — Annie, now a senior, doing so a year earlier than Erin, a junior — the sister duo has exceeded expectations by thriving individually and joining forces to lift the Panthers to abundant success.
But in their final season side by side at Franklin, there still is more left to accomplish and Annie and Erin are using their supreme talent to chase it down together.
“They’ve both been a huge factor in Franklin lacrosse reaching that next level,” Igoe Guarino said. “Their intensity, their will to win, the way they prepare for the season has just raised everyone’s game around them. They desire a state championship and they get the whole team on board with that.”
Nearly the youngest of 10 kids in the Walsh family, Annie and Erin’s close relationship plays out on and off the lacrosse field, including both committing at the same time to continue their lacrosse careers at Boston College, where their older sister, Christina, currently plays.
Annie and Erin constantly are pushing each other to be better, first at practice where the two often will match up in drills and let their competitive juices flow. That drive carries over into games, where they form a dynamic duo that has combined for almost 600 career points and led Franklin to a 14-2 mark this season.
“It just builds our chemistry,” said the younger Walsh of doing nearly everything in tandem with her sister. “We know what we both want to do and we know each other so well that playing with each other is just easy for us.”
They certainly have made it look that way. In the midfield, Annie has compiled 58 of her 234 career goals this season with Erin, at attack, right behind with 56 goals — 172 for her career — and 38 assists. Their high production rate pays dividends for Franklin, which extended its Hockomock League winning streak to 81 games Wednesday behind seven goals from Annie in a 14-10 victory over Foxboro.
The sisters also helped the Panthers capture a Division 1 East crown two years ago — Annie was also on a sectional title team in 2016 — and if Annie and Erin have their say, more hardware will becoming Franklin’s way.
“Erin and I are playing all year round and we’re always preparing for the season,” Annie Walsh said. “We both share a common goal of going all the way.”
Silver Lake rises
Even after going 1-17 in his first year at the helm of Silver Lake in 2016, Derek Weckbacher didn’t feel discouraged.
Weckbacher had a young team filled with freshmen that season. Now those underclassmen have transformed into a senior core, helping Weckbacher administer a sensational turnaround with the Lakers (10-3) qualifying for the state tournament for the third straight season after Thursday’s 18-5 win over
Scituate.
“It’s been emotional, obviously, and tough the first year,” Weckbacher said. “But to see the progress, to see the desire to continue to get better as a program, continue to grow … that’s awesome to see as a coach.”
This season, Silver Lake’s success has been backed by balance with Sean Daly — who has netted over 100 career goals — Drew Nugent, Greg Wolff, Brendan Dean and Matt Dole all recording more than 30 points.
The next step in the Lakers’ ascension is to win their first-ever postseason game in a loaded Div. 1 South field.
New benchmarks
Each season, Swampscott continues to check off boxes. After earning a program record 12 regularseason wins and making a run to the Div. 2 North semifinals last season, Swampscott (11-2) has built off that success by setting new marks this season, including beating Beverly for the first time and defeating Peabody twice in a single campaign.
“Every season we’re going to try to hit another level, if possible,” Swampscott coach Al Eaton said. “It’s been huge. I started with the program in 2010 as the JV coach, and it was nothing even close to what it is now.”
With a well-rounded team that features two 100 career goal-scorers in Grace DiGrande and Emerson Laundry, Swampscott has developed a winning formula not predicated on the play of a single player.
Overtime
Unlike recent years, the MIAA will hold the boys lacrosse state finals on Thursday, June 20, at Boston University, while the girls’ state title games will take place the following day at Babson College. …
Jane Hansen notched her 400th career point in Cohasset’s 20-3 win Wednesday over Hingham. She accompanies her sister, Elle, who she will join next year at Northwestern, as the only two players from Cohasset in the exclusive club.