Before the season, questions lingered as to how the Boys Lacrosse team was going to score goals after losing their top two attacks to graduation. And after one quarter of play, that question become a reality when a weak King Philip team had a 1-0 lead. But, things turned around quickly as the Rebels scored nine consecutive goals and pulled away for a 13-5 victory in Friday’s season opener at Turco Field.
After an even start that saw both senior goalie Andrew Blood and KP goalie Peyton Rochon forced into early saves, King Philip took the lead on a close range shot with 3:40 left in the first quarter.
The lead would not last long in the second. Senior Captain Patrick Baker scored a man-up goal just 14 seconds into the quarter, and a minute later Baker found junior star Seamus Ford for the first of his three second quarter goals. With 7:58 left to halftime, senior Mark Niden–who seems to be an adequate replacement to Chris Frye–stole a pass at midfield and raced in for the first of his three goals to make it 4-1.
“KP took it to us in the first quarter,” said Niden. “All it took was one goal and we were on our way to victory. For this team, goal scoring is contagious.”
The Rebels continued to dominate possession and gained much more confidence in their offensive ability. Ford added two more goals before halftime and senior Captain Sean Donnelly–who is Walpole’s main leader on the field– added two to make it 7-1 going into the break.
“The first and the second quarter were like night and day,” said Baker. “In the beginning, we had trouble holding possession and getting any momentum on the offensive end. This outburst was good for us–now we will have more confidence heading into league play.”
The Warriors did create chances in the second half to try and get back into the game but senior Captain Andrew Blood, who finished with 14 saves on the afternoon, made a pair of stops to stymie the KP attack. After the missed opportunities on one end, Walpole took advantage on the other. Junior Tom Dicalogero scored twice in the third to make it 9-1.
In the fourth quarter, KP scored a pair of goals, but the Rebels added four more of their own. When the final horn sounded, Walpole had a dominant 13-5 lead. “We finished our opportunities and that was the difference at the end of the day,” said Niden.
It has been a difficult few weeks for all spring teams to try and get time outside and on the full field, as evidenced by the snow piles that lined Turco Field on Friday. Boys Lacrosse even practiced on the parking lot next to Morgan Field for the first week of training–which may explain for the first quarter power outage.
Walpole hopes to take this offensive outburst into league play against Natick on April 3.
