As the spring sports season comes to an end, the last regular season game of the season has the potential to define a team’s chemistry before they enter the postseason. Typically, most teams prefer to enter the postseason on a victory, so their morale is high. So, in their last game of the season on Tuesday, May 20, the 14-3 Rebels sought revenge against Natick, the team they lost the home opener to back on April 3. In addition to losing their home opener against Natick, they also lost the Herget Championship, for although they played Natick a second time, this game was considered a non-league game (despite involving 2 league teams). Seeking retribution against the Herget Champions, Walpole took advantage of this second chance and won a 14-12 nail biter against Natick, just the sort of validation the Second Place Rebels wanted before the postseason.
Senior Captain and attackman Bri Doherty said, “Natick, our last game of the regular season was a very important game because we lost to Natick the first time and we knew that they had only gotten better, so to beat them it showed how we overall have really improved as a team.” Junior midfielders Molly Lanahan and Meagan Sundstrom, along with Doherty lead the offensive end of the game. Both Doherty and Sundstrom contributed 3 goals, while Lanahan added a total of 6.
Along with attack, one aspect of the game which the Rebels have especially focused on improving this season was defense. Senior Captain and defender Lena Ford said, “Coach Tosone emphasizes the importance of defense a lot and with his coaching of our double teams and overall changing our outlook on the defensive end has made our team a force to be reckoned with.”
Despite the improvements throughout the year to Walpole’s defense, Natick did not surrender after being down at the end of the first half. Senior goal tender Erin Leblanc (who will be continuing goal tending at UMass Dartmouth next year) struggled by the end of the second half when Natick came back from a 14-8 deficit to be only 2 goals behind at 14-12. However, Natick did not have enough time to compete for the lead, as the Rebels won the game to improve their record to 15-3.
“In every phase of the game we are simply a better team than the first time we met them,” Head Coach Mike Tosone said.
Walpole Girl’s Lacrosse now looks forward to their future in the post tournament. With a 15-3 record, the Rebel’s earned a first round bye and will be taking on the winner of the Medway and Dover-Sherborn game. Walpole beat both Medway and Dover-Sherborn earlier in the season.
Ford said, “Our last Natick game gave us the motivation we need heading into post season, but we’re not planning on letting our confidence get to our heads yet. Anything can happen.”
