ESPN

Former Malden Catholic and Kimball Union Academy hockey standout Nick Roberto has switched his commitment to Boston University, after de-committing from Maine in the recent weeks. He will join the Terriers for the 2013-14 season.

Roberto, a Wakefield, Mass. resident, tallied 23 goals and 48 points in 29 games for the Wildcats last season.

"Nick has worked very hard to attain this goal," KUA head coach Mike Levine said Monday. "The KUA community is very happy for both him and his family."

Roberto played the previous three seasons with Malden Catholic, where he was a part of the Lancers' Super 8 championship team in 2010-11, before enrolling at Kimball Union. He also was part of the Wildcats' Piatelli/Simmons Tournament victory in 2011-12 and was named Flood-Marr Tournament Most Valuable Player in 2012.

He joins former KUA teammates Doyle Somerby and John Macleod as BU commits and becomes the seventh player with Massachusetts roots joining the Terriers next year, including Robbie Baillargeon, Brendan Collier (former MC teammate), Tommy Kelley, Dalton MacAfee, T.J. Ryan and Somerby.

Roberto's change in commitment was first reported by Jasper Kozak-Miller of the "Over the Boards" hockey blog.

NEEDHAM, Mass -- St. Sebastian’s led from start to finish and executed in all facets of the game as they defeated Middlesex 8-2 in an Independent School League match-up on Wednesday afternoon.

“Middlesex is a good team and they came in here undefeated,” St. Sebastian’s head coach Shaun Stanton said. “We had possession early and that was key for us. We also got some big goals from our midfielders early.”

St. Seb’s (9-1) got on the board first as senior midfielder Jack Connolly found the back of the net on a nice individual effort to score the game’s first goal two minutes into the contest.

The St. Seb’s midfield unit of Connolly (3 goals, 1 assist), Aidan Balboni (2 G) and Notre Dame commit Dalton MacAfee (2 A) would account for five of the team’s eight goals, highlighted by Connolly’s second tally of the game. The Dartmouth commit scored with 11.3 seconds remaining in the first quarter as he beat his man to the left and found the back of the net to give the Arrows a 3-0 lead after one quarter of play.

St. Seb’s remained in control throughout the first half as they dominated the ball and used timely offense and lockdown defense to take a 6-0 lead to the half.

Middlesex defenseman and face-off specialist Sam Tweed did a good job all day for Middlesex in the face-off circle but the St. Seb’s defense and midfield play eliminated any lengthy possessions for the Zebras on the day.

St. Seb’s got two goals from attack Gordon Donnelly, who played well on the crease for the Arrows, and a lone score from attack Sam Washburne.

Middlesex received their offense from midfielders Toby Porter (1 G, 1 A) and Sam Muse who both found the back of the net in the third quarter.

GOALTENDING AND DEFENSE RULE THE DAY
St. Seb’s senior goalie and Bentley commit Jarrod Dillon had a strong game in the cage for the Arrows as he made numerous big saves that led to St. Sebastian’s break outs and long possessions.

“Jarrod played great today,” Stanton said. “That is probably the best game that he has ever played for us. Hopefully it is not the best game he will ever play, as we have the rest of the season to go, but he did a great job for us today.”

The St. Seb’s long poles also shined on the afternoon as they dictated the tempo of the game and created problems for the patient Middlesex offense. Along with long-stick midfielder Stephen Brown, the underclassmen close defensive unit of Notre Dame commit Pat Healy, Brian O’Malley and Connor Strachan shut the Middlesex attack out on the afternoon.

“Whether we are playing 3-3 zone or man-to-man we just naturally extend out and force offenses to go north to south,” Stanton explained. “This keeps them from getting to the cage so it makes it a lot easier for us. They also did a great job of forcing turnovers today.”

THE ROAD AHEAD
St. Sebastian’s has now won nine games in a row after a season-opening 5-4 loss to Phillips Exeter. The schedule does not get any easier for the Arrows as they take on Rivers, Milton Academy, and undefeated Governor’s Academy (10-0) in their next three contests.

Stanton highlighted the Gov’s game as “the big one."

Middlesex fell to 7-1 on the season and hosts Groton on Saturday. Groton is led by junior midfielder and Princeton commit Adam Hardej.

Groton is 6-4 on the season and boasts a wins over Roxbury Latin and Thayer on their resume.

ESPN RISE lacrosse editor Mike Loveday is reporting that St. Sebastian's midfielder Dalton MacAfee has verbally committed to Notre Dame for the 2013-14 season.

MacAfee, an incoming junior, won 64 percent of his face offs and had 16 assists and 11 goals last season. He is the second incoming junior from the Needham-based prep school to commit to the Fighting Irish in the last week, joining defender Pat Healy.

Loveday has more on MacAfee's commitment here, partially excerpted below:

ESPN RISE: What other school’s did you consider?
Dalton MacAfee: “Other Schools I considered were Johns Hopkins, Maryland, Virginia and Cornell.”

ER: What made Notre Dame such an attractive choice?
DM: “Notre Dame is such an attractive choice because I feel as though you get the best of everything. Whether it be going to watch football games along with 80,000 other screaming fans, or going to the grotto and lighting a candle to say a prayer, or playing Syracuse in front of a packed house, Notre Dame just gives you the total college experience.”

ER: What surprised you about the recruiting process?
DM: “What really surprised me about the recruiting process was how truly difficult it is to make your final decision. Before the process actually began I always thought that making a choice would be easy, however I never realized that I would have to make a decision not solely based on lacrosse. The coaches I got to know and established relationships with were unbelievable coaches but more importantly, they are men of high character and great role models.”

ER: What one piece of advice would you give to other players who are just starting on the recruiting process?
DM: “One piece of advice I would give to players just starting the recruiting process would be to keep an open mind and to weigh all of your options. As a great man once told me, "The easiest decision may not always be the best decision".”

ER: Is there anything about the recruiting process that you think could change that would have made it easier or less stressful for you?
DM: “If there is one thing I could have changed about the process, it would have been that only one of my dream schools showed interest in me ... not both of them.”