Walpole Girls Lacrosse defeated Needham 14-10 on Monday, May 21 to secure their third consecutive Herget Title and win the Bay State Conference for the first time in program history.

“In any year, it’s a tremendous accomplishment, and certainly this year is no different,” coach Mike Tosone said. “[Needham] is a good team, Wellesley is a good team, Natick is a good team, and there are other good teams that on any given day could beat you, so I am thrilled.”

With a 42-7 record and back-to-back state championship game appearances, Walpole Girls Lacrosse has established itself as one of the top programs in Division II over the last two years. Over the offseason, however, MIAA realignment has bumped Walpole up to Division I.

“We’ve had experience playing against some of the best teams in the state every year,” senior captain Libby Foley said. “So I think we are ready for the challenge of Division I.”

The Rebels have been led by senior captains Emily Curtis and Celia Walsh, alongside junior Audra Tosone. The trio of Division I commits helped the Rebels end their regular season 19-0 and enter the playoffs with their first undefeated season in program history.

“It’s a deeper pool,” [Mike] Tosone said. “I would suggest that Cohasset was the best team regardless of division; they were the best team that I saw. Obviously, Needham that won [Division I] was a great team, but there are more elite teams in Division I.”

The Rebels, who are currently ranked first in Massachusetts, graduated nine seniors from last year’s team that saw a berth in the Division II championship.

“It’s special this season because going into it I was a little nervous considering we have a lot of underclassmen,” Walsh said. “But we have been doing really well, and I am excited to see how playoffs go.”

The Rebels entered the 2018 MIAA Girls Lacrosse East Division 1 tournament with a bye as they are ranked first out of 13 teams. They faced Natick in the second round of the tournament at Walpole on June 7 at 4:00.