ESPN

The MIAA boys' lacrosse tournament seedings were released this afternoon, with Western Mass Div. 2 yet to be unveiled.

ESPN Boston No. 1 Duxbury claimed the top spot in Division 1. Hingham slides in ahead of undefeated Concord-Carlisle in Div. 2 EMass, while Algonquin takes top billing in Central.

Dover-Sherborn holds the No. 1 seed in Division 3.

The full brackets, along with seedings and game times are available here.

DIVISION 1
1. Duxbury (19-2); 2. Acton-Boxboro (15-3); 3. Masconomet (16-4); 4. Lincoln-Sudbury (14-5); 5. Billerica (15-5); 6. Needham (13-5); 7. Westford Academy (14-4); 8. Franklin (14-4); 9. Mansfield (14-4); 10. BC High (10-8); 11. Andover (10-6); 12. Newton North (13-4); 13. St. John's Prep (9-9); 14. Xaverian (9-9); 15. Woburn (14-6); 16. Marshfield (11-8); 17. Framingham (11-5); 18. Chelmsford (11-7); 19. Barnstable (10-6); 20. Lexington (10-10); 21. Haverhill (13-5); 22. Braintree (9-9); 23. Medford (14-6); 24. Plymouth North (9-9); 25. Salem (9-9); 26. Bridgewater-Raynham (7-11).

DIVISION 2 EMASS
1. Hingham (17-3); 2. Concord Carlisle (16-0); 3. Catholic Memorial (16-3); 4. Wellesley (15-3); 5. Scituate (16-4); 6. Medfield (14-4); 7. Reading (15-5); 8. Winchester (15-5); 9. Beverly (14-4); 10. Foxboro (14-3); 11. Marblehead (14-4); 12. Falmouth (14-5); 13. Shawsheen (16-2); 14. Norwood (13-5); 15. Wakefield (12-6); 16. Hopkinton (11-8); 17. Sandwich (12-7); 18. Dartmouth (12-5); 19. Melrose (13-7); 20. North Andover (9-9); 21. Bishop Feehan (12-6); 22. Triton (10-8); 23. Silver Lake (10-8); 24. Burlington (9-9); 25. Nauset (11-9); 26. Whitman-Hanson (9-7); 27. Walpole (7-11); 28. Southeastern Reg. (9-7); 29. Tewksbury (11-9); 30. Pembroke (10-10); 31. Danvers (9-9); 32. Apponequet (6-10).

DIVISION 2 CENTRAL
1. Algonquin (17 – 1); 2. Tyngsborough (19 – 0); 3. Grafton (18 – 2); 4. St. John's (S) (14 – 4); 5. Oakmont (15 – 3); 6. Shrewsbury (10 – 8); 7. Blackstone Valley (12 – 4); 8. Westborough (10 – 8); 9. Nashoba Valley (14 – 6); 10. Littleton (10 – 6); 11. Tantasqua (10 – 8); 12. Nashoba Regional (10 – 8); 13. Shepherd Hill (12 – 5); 14. Nipmuc (12 – 8); 15. Milford (10 – 9); 16. Hudson (11 – 9).

DIVISION 3
1. Dover-Sherborn (15-4); 2. North Reading (19-1); 3. Norwell (14-6); 4. Newburyport (14-2); 5. Hanover (11-5); 6. Weston (13-5); 7. Archbishop Williams (17-3); 8. Medway (13-5); 9. Hamilton-Wenham (10-8); 10. Fairhaven (17-1); 11. Tri-County RVTHS (16-2); 12. Arlington Catholic (14-5); 13. Georgetown (11-8); 14. Westwood (10-8); 15. Austin Prep (12-6); 16. Minuteman (16-4); 17. Swampscott (9-9); 18. Martha's Vineyard (9-9); 19. Old Rochester (12-4); 20. Cohassett (5-11); 21. South Shore Tech (12-4); 22. Ashland (10-8); 23. Watertown (10-10); 24. Hull (12-6); 25. Bishop Stang (13-7); 26. North Shore Tech (11-9); 27. Canton (7-10); 28. Upper Cape Cod RVT (9-9); 29. Whittier (10-10).

This afternoon, the MIAA unveiled the girls lacrosse seedings for the North and South districts. Lincoln-Sudbury (19-1) and Winchester (19-1) grabbed the No. 1 overall seeds in North Divisions 1 and 2, respectively; Needham (19-1) and Duxbury (13-4-2) took the top seeds in South Divisions 1 and 2.

To view all the brackets, CLICK HERE.

Central Mass. will unveil its seedings tomorrow; Algonquin is expected to take the No. 1 overall seed. Western Mass. will unveil its seedings on May 31.

Here is how the North and South shaped out.

North Division 1
1. Lincoln-Sudbury (19-1); 2. Andover (17-3); 3. Reading (16-4); 4. North Andover (14-5); 5. Masconomet (15-3); 6. Westford (16-4); 7. Central Catholic (13-5); 8. Concord-Carlisle (12-6); 9. Framingham (11-8); 10. Chelmsford (13-7); 11. Arlington (12-8); 12. Beverly (12-6); 13. Peabody (11-5); 14. Lowell (8-9-2); 15. Medford (9-7); 16. Haverhill (5-11)

North Division 2
1. Winchester (19-1); 2. Ipswich (13-3); 3. Wayland (13-4-1); 4. Marblehead (14-4); 5. Belmont (10-5-1); 6. Bishop Fenwick (11-5-2); 7. Newburyport (10-5); 8. Danvers (12-5-1); 9. Shawsheen (9-2-3); 10. Manchester Essex (10-6); 11. Arlington Catholic (12-7-1); 12. Hamilton Wenham (9-6); 13. Austin Prep (11-8-1); 14. Burlington (10-7-1); 15. Tewksbury (4-11); 16. Wakefield (10-8)

South Division 1
1. Needham (19-1); 2. Notre Dame (19-1); 3. Westwood (18-2); 4. Natick (16-3-1); 5. Franklin (13-5); 6. Wellesley (11-7); 7. Newton North (12-5); 8. Walpole (11-7-1); 9. King Philip (13-7); 10. Hingham (13-7); 11. Dartmouth (16-2); 12. Marshfield (12-3); 13. Plymouth North (10-7-2); 14. Norwood (10-8); 15. Braintree (10-8); 16. Whitman-Hanson (12-6); 17. New Bedford (10-6-2)

South Division 2
1. Duxbury (13-4-2); 2. Sandwich (15-2-1); 3. Hopkinton (13-4-2); 4. Medfield (13-5-0); 5. Norwell (12-7-0); 6. Apponequet (18-0-0); 7. Scituate (15-5-1); 8. Nauset (16-4-0); 9. Archbishop Williams (18-2-0); 10. Ursuline (15-4-0); 11. Ashland (12-5-1); 12. Cohassett (10-4-2); 13. Hull (13-4-0); 14. Dover Sherborn (8-7-3); 15. Foxboro (10-7-1); 16. Canton (9-8-0); 17. Nantucket (9-9-0); 18. Martha's Vineyard (8-1-7); 19. Hanover (8-8-0); 20. Bourne (8-7-3); 21. Cape Cod Academy (7-6-1)

WELLESLEY, Mass. -- Over the past six years, Duxbury has found itself a great opponent for the final game of the regular season in perennial New Hampshire power Bishop Guertin.

All but one of the six meetings have been highly competitive, and Tuesday afternoon saw the two squads put together a defensive masterpiece. All six starting long poles and three long-stick midfielder's on each side are committed to play at the Division 1 college level next spring, and they were the key factors for the majority of this interstate showdown.

Ultimately, a three-goal spurt midway through the fourth quarter decided it as top-ranked Duxbury rallied from a 5-3 deficit to take a 6-5 triumph over the Cardinals at Babson College's MacDowell Field.

"It felt like we were playing Garden City's defense there," Sweet laughed when asked about the high level of defense. "[Bishop Guertin] were tough to beat one on one, they played great team defense, they packed it in and they got key goaltending. That's a good formula for keeping the score down. It was a great high school lacrosse game and it could have gone either way. I'm glad that we had that little run and were able to get some key defensive stops at the end."

The Cardinals (15-3) tried to break open what was a 3-3 game when Tommy Vailas made a beautiful alley-dodge to free himself up for a goal late in the third, then opened the fourth with a nice rip down near the baseline by Luke Roever.

The way Guertin was playing defensively, it was going to prove difficult for the Dragons to make one of their patented runs, but sure enough, they did exactly that. In an extra-man situation, Will Siefert fed Seamus Connelly down low and the big attackman used a great stick fake to pull Cardinals goalie Colin Dulea out of position for a score.

Henry Narlee won the next faceoff and James Burke swooped in on the ground ball, as he has done all season, and fed Siefert for an easy look in transition to tie the game. Just over a minute later, Sam Sweet produced a tremendous individual effort to get free and set up Jack Sullivan for a goal that not only put Duxbury in the lead for the first time, but also held up as the game-winner.

"We were just moving around on the crease and my guy slid early and went to Sam and he just made a great look in the crease," described Sullivan. "It was kind of nerve wracking on the crease with the ball. We worked hard, we're a fourth quarter team and we gave it our all at the end. Narlee did great on the faceoffs, won those three in a row to get us those three goals."

BIG MAN GOES OFF ON THE BIG STAGE
It seemed the like the impressive size of the Guertin poles fed right into the best aspects of Seamus Connelly's game. The 6-foot-2, 200-plus pound Duke commit was able to body up against the Cardinals poles and use his exceptionally talented hands to rifle shots home to the tune of a four-goal game.

He even showed a little of his flashy side, using a nice stick fake where it looked as though he would shoot behind his head, then whipped the ball around from the front on the first score of the Dragons' game-deciding run.

"Shay [Connelly] played great today," praised Sweet. "He played with some energy, he played smart and he hit his shots. Lacrosse is funny. You can have great players out there and its really a game of matchups. They were a little bit slow to slide to him on those goals and they paid a price for it and Seamus stuck his shots. It was awesome. He played a great game."

Added Connelly, "One of our things is to keep believing. We knew we could pull it out. We've been down a lot in games and we've always come back. It's just a matter of our seniors looking each other in the eye and knowing we could do it. Our offense was really helping me get the space I needed to shoot. It was the kind of day where it was my turn to shoot. Any other day it could have been Sief or Sammy or anybody else."

DEFENSE STEALS THE SHOW
Connelly popped in the second of his four goals with 24 seconds remaining in the second quarter and the game ended up tied, 2-2, at the half. Fans who weren't at the game might look at that score and say, "Good thing I didn't go. Must have been a boring game."

Not even close. You missed brilliance on display.

The fans who did make the trek to Babson College saw two defenses playing at the highest of levels a pair of New England high school teams are capable of. We've come to expect this from the Dragons, who have been all year long by close defenders Max Randall (Dartmouth commit), Matt O'Keefe (Johns Hopkins) and Jay McDermott (Syracuse), as well as lethal LSMs Reilly Naton (Yale) and James Burke (Penn State).

For perhaps the first time all season, aside from Garden City and Irondequoit, the Dragons met their match in the defensive zone. The Cardinals are led by long poles Bob Fahey and Kyle Karaska, both of whom are UMass-commits, and LSM Jay Krzyston (R.I.T.).

That unit was able to force turnovers, bad shots, and keep Duxbury's transition opportunities to a minimum for all but that two-minute stretch in the fourth.

"I have so much confidence in those kids," praised Guertin coach Chris Cameron. "They've been with me for four years and I know what they can do. They play against top-notch caliber all summer. We try to get them as many competitive games as possible so I knew that at this level of play they could handle their attack."

The rankings crew at ESPNHS released the latest boys' lacrosse FAB 50 poll this morning and here's the skinny.

Massachusetts No. 1 Duxbury shifted up two spots to No. 17, after the Dragons outscored their three opponents from last week by a 42-9 margin. No. 11 Darien (Conn.) sits just outside the top 10 as the only other New England-based team represented.

However, MIAA No. 2 Concord-Carlisle received votes from the national panel as the Patriots ran their record to 15-0.

Several Massachusetts-based lacrosse players, along with host New England talent, were named to the Under Armour All-American game's boys' and girls' rosters on Thursday.

Duxbury defender Max Randall and Beverly's Will Ryan, goaltender at Avon Old Farms (Conn.), will represent the Bay State on the North boys' roster. They will be joined by a talented trio from Darien (Conn.) representing New England, as Blue Wave defender Tony Britton, attack Case Matheis and midfielder Henry West all made the squad.

Also, Deerfield Academy goaltender Luke Aaron, a native of Great Falls, Va., will play with the South squad.

On the girls' side, Massachusetts is well represented with six players. Lincoln-Sudbury's Madison Acton, Thayer Academy's Bryn Boucher (Hningham) and Westwood's Laura McHoul will all patrol the midfield on the North roster while Andover's Anne Farnham and Needham's Tory Waldstein will bolster the defensive corps in front of Governor's Academy goaltender Kelsey Duryea (Beverly).

The Under Armour All-American game will be played at Johnny Unitas Stadium at Towson University in Towson, Md., on June 30. The girls’ All-American game will begin at 5 p.m. followed by the boys’ game at 8 p.m. The boys' game will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 8 p.m.

The complete game rosters can be found here.

It was very much status quo for the two New England boys' lacrosse entrants in the latest ESPNHS FAB 50 poll.

Both Darien (Conn.) and Duxbury shifted down a spot or two in the last week, despite holding serve in their games last week. Darien moved from No. 11 to 13, while Duxbury checked in at No. 19.

Fairfield Prep (Conn.), which made its debut at No. 23 last week, moved out of the poll while falling to 11-3.

The following coaches will be honored at the Second Annual Coach of the Year/Student Athlete Banquet on May 30, 2012. Each coach below has been named Coach of the Year by the MIAA for their respective sport:

Robert Mahoney, Notre Dame (Tyngsborough) -- Girls Volleyball
Amelia Davis, Algonquin -- Gymnastics
Kevin Burchill, Braintree -- Girls Ice Hockey
Jack Stoddard, Duxbury -- Boys Golf
Alex Naumann, Everett -- Boys Ice Hockey
Michael Foley, Framingham -- Swim
Fred Jewett, Hingham -- Indoor Track
Jim Leonard, King Philip -- Softball
Phil Maia, Lowell -- Cross Country
David Duffy, Needham -- Football
Frank Carey, North Reading -- Baseball
Rick Kates, Notre Dame (Hingham) -- Outdoor Track
David Gianferante, Notre Dame (Hingham) -- Girls Golf
Kim Penney, Reading -- Girls Basketball
David Curley, Rockport -- Boys Soccer
Ed Scollan, Westford -- Boys Basketball
Leslie Frank, Westwood -- Girls Lacrosse

Duxbury boys' lacrosse moved back into the top 20 range of the latest ESPNHS FAB 50 national poll.

The Dragons moved up five spots following their riveting last-minute win over New York power Niskayuna on Saturday to land at No. 18 this week.

Also representing New England this week was Darien, Conn., which hopped up four spots to No. 11 in the latest poll, as well as Fairfield Prep (Conn.). The Jesuits knocked off last week's national No. 1 Chaminade to make their debut at No. 23. Fairfield's lone loss of the season came against No. 33 Delbarton (N.J.).

DUXBURY, Mass. -- Duxbury had a sterling opportunity to notch the game-winning goal in the final minute of their stalemate against New York state power Niskayuna on Saturday.

The Dragons went on the man-up inside of a minute remaining, looking for the go-ahead. The Silver Warriors held, but not for good, as Sam Sweet netted the game-winner with 13 seconds to play for an 8-7 Duxbury win.

The strike came better late than never for the Dragons (13-2) who used some nifty transition offense and a 25-11 ground ball advantage to beat the 10th-ranked team I the latest ESPNHS FAB 50 national poll.

“We had a set play set up and we have to keep it in the box because there was a stall warning that kind of screwed with it,” Sweet said. “Then, it got hectic.”

He added, “The penalty expired and I had a shorty on me, so I just took it to the net,” Sweet said.

Without the services of attack Paul Hellar (shoulder injury) through the second half, Duxbury spread out its offensive load. Sweet and fellow attack Seamus Connelly, along with long-stick midfielder James Burke had two goals each.

Burke was also a defensive catalyst, gathering a team-leading six ground balls.

“Duxbury’s a really good team, really athletic,” Niskayuna head coach Mike Vorgang said. “They want to pressure you all over the field and make you put the ball on the ground. They got us out of some of the things we wanted to do on offense, but we were resilient and came back.”

The Silver Warriors (11-1) came back to tie the score on three different occasions in the second half before Sweet’s winner.

“What it told me is that we were able to put together a full 48-minutes of good Duxbury lacrosse, which we’ve kind of been missing until now,” Duxbury head coach Chris Sweet said. “In practice, we went back to basics, passing and catching, and scooping ground balls.”

AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME
The teams played a riveting fourth quarter, as the teams traded tallies.

Each time Niskayuna knotted the score up in the period, the Dragons responded within 20 seconds in both instances.

While the Silver Warriors showed glimpses of the offense which has averaged nearly 20 goals per game in the Empire State’s uber-competitive B division, Duxbury’s short-handed attack was ready to counter.

“It’s shows that we can keep our composure, which is huge heading into the playoffs because you’ve got to be able to work through adversity,” Sam Sweet said. “That’s what we were able to do. That’s huge.”

STEPPING UP
While Hellar’s injury is a situation worth watching, what was impressive is that the Dragons didn’t seem to miss a beat without him in the second.

“He creates so much out there,” Chris Sweet said of Hellar. “I don’t think he’s going to be out too long, hopefully he bounces back quickly. It was an adjustment, but the guys that were out there, stepped up. They kept cool and, again, they didn’t try to do too much. They made plays when they needed to.”

WEST ROXBURY, Mass. -- There is no question St. John's Prep is going to face adversity as its closes its season with one of the toughest schedules in the state.

Clashing against top-fifteen ranked opponents in six of his final nine games, Eagles head coach John Roy is looking to make sure his squad is well prepped for the postseason. If a three goal fourth quarter comeback and a 9-8 double-overtime victory over Catholic Conference foe Catholic Memorial on Thursday is any sign of things to come, No. 19 SJP (8-4, 5-2) is up to the challenge.

“It is nerve racking to be on the sidelines for a game like this, but it is valuable for the players to get that experience” Roy said. “This is a great way to start this final run of seven games.”

The Eagles upset the host No. 9 Knights (9-3, 5-1) at James R. O'Connor Stadium with three goals and two assists from attack Andrew Gallahue and two tallies by midfielder Drew O'Connell (both sophomores).

With Prep scoring the last five goals of the game, a 15-yard side-arm rocket by O'Connell at 2:26 in the second extra period sealed the victory for the Eagles. As Gallahue worked the sidelines midway the second overtime, the sophomore popped the ball up top to O'Connell who finished along the side post for the win.

“I saw Andrew dodging and I saw an opening,” O'Connell said. “I have been playing since the second grade (and) shooting a lot in my back yard. He had been stuffing me a lot all game, but that one went through.”

The clincher was the second assist for Gallahue, who set up the game tying goal with 33 seconds left in regulation. After the two leading scorers hit net to open the fourth quarter, Gallahue ran a set play from behind the crease and cut backwards to find a slim gap on the outside to organize the third score of the period.

On his way towards the keeper, the attackman caught a slide and popped the rubber up top to fellow Eagle's sophomore Joey Cavallaro for a wide open five-yard finish.

“[Coach] wanted me to go back left, take a dodge, and feed one of the people in the crease,” Gallahue said. “I saw Joey Cavallaro come to me and I just tossed the ball.”

“We do run it in practice, (but) it did not go exactly as we had planned,” added Roy.

The Knights, who never trailed in regulation, took a 3-2 lead at 4:26 in the first quarter and led for the next 40 minutes. A side-net assist from freshman Tyler Bogart set up an open backdoor cut by fellow attacker sophomore Steve Righini to give CM the edge.

The Knights scored the next four, including a one-timer by sophomore Zack O'Brien off a steal and assist by senior Austin Bannister for a 6-2 lead at 4:57 in the second quarter.

“We were trying to use everybody on offense,” CM head coach Kevin Lynch said. “We have come out on the losing end of two overtimes so far and that was our third one.”

Gallahue helped Prep battle back with a pair in the final two minutes of the half, but the Eagles gave up two by CM senior leading scorers Tom Stanton (3 G, 1 A) and John Harrison (2 G) to open the third. CM had an 8-2 advantage in man-up opportunities, while outscoring the Eagles 2 -1 with the extra player.

Prep keeper Thomas Casale made 17 saves, while CM senior Miles McCarthy knocked away 14.

“Their keeper was making good saves all night,” Roy said. “We needed to move to be able to score.”

Both teams have two in-conference games remaining, with second-place Prep a game behind league-leader CM. The Eagles finish their final two weeks of the season with a pair of road games against No. 3 Lincoln-Sudbury (9-2) and No. 12 Billerica (8-4) and two home closers against No. 1 Duxbury (11-2) and No. 6 Medfield (7-2).

With six total games left, Prep needs one more win to reach the postseason, while CM has already qualified.

MIAA top boys' lacrosse team Duxbury fell back a few spots in the latest ESPNHS FAB poll.

The Dragons moved from No. 19 to 23, following their loss to New York power Garden City, which claimed the No. 2 spot in the poll.

Duxbury will have a chance to move up with another big out-of-state contest, as the Dragons welcome No. 10 Niskayuna (N.Y.) on Saturday.

New England's other FAB 50 entrant, Darien, Conn. fell from No. 5 to 15 after a loss to Yorktown (N.Y.).

DUXBURY, Mass. -- Take the matter of Duxbury lacrosse and you find a team that, while it may seem on the surface that things are in working order, can still find room for improvement.

Despite two losses, the No. 1 Dragons remain the hands down favorite in the Division 1 derby; their two losses on the season both came against nationally ranked New York powerhouses. Otherwise, there wasn’t much to complain about.

Still, head coach Chris Sweet couldn’t feel his team has played its best game.

That might have changed Tuesday on a rain-soaked turf field where the Dragons dispatched South Shore rival No. 5 Hingham, 14-4.

“It’s starting to come together, the chemistry,” Sweet said. “I’ve said all along that our fundamentals have not been good, just basic passing and catching, and it all starts there.”

The keyword of the day for the Dragons (11-2, 4-0) was balance. Seamus Connelly, John Gomer, Cam Mullins and Will (Siefert tallied two goals each, set in motion by another dominant performance by Henry Narlee on faceoffs (14-of-20).

THROWING THE HAMMER DOWN
Before the game go out of hand, Hingham (9-2) held the first lead of the game and looked poised for a fight with a 2-2 tie after the first quarter.

That’s when Duxbury started to separate, running to a 7-2 lead at half.

In the third quarter, the Dragons kept coming.

“It was good to see that there was no letdown,” Sweet said.

While the Dragons bucked their recent trend of letting teams hang around in the second half, Sweet had a simple explanation for their killer instinct.

“For our seniors, it was their last game against Hingham,” “That’s our big rival, so that’s motivation enough right there.”

NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Two days after one of Duxbury lacrosse’s wildest contests of the season, the No. 1 Dragons once again found themselves behind the 8-ball.

But Duxbury constructed a three-goal rally early in the first half, which helped them go on to defeat Needham, 11-7, at Memorial Field Saturday night.

“We want to get back to playing Duxbury lacrosse, and we’ve had a tough schedule [because] we’ve had a game every other day for about three weeks," Duxbury head coach Chris Sweet said. "But I thought we played a great second half, we got off to a slow start in the first half, and sometimes that just happens."

The Rockets, who jumped out to a stunning 3-1 lead in the first quarter, struggled to maintain their two-goal advantage, as missed shots, passes and ground balls opened the door for the Dragons attack and midfield to tally four unanswered goals before intermission.

Senior Sam Sweet (2 G) tied the game at 7:10 of the second quarter after collecting a pass from senior Paul Hellar (2A). Senior Adam Fitzgerald and junior Henry Narlee (2G) then upped the Dragons' lead to 5-3.

“Coach Sweet, one thing he stresses is always get ahead of the ball, and never give up on the play, so once I won the face-off, I saw Reilly [Naton] had the ball, and I just tried to get in front of everybody and beat my defender," Narlee said of his second quarter strike. "I beat him, [my defender] and luckily got the shot off, so I thought it was nothing special, but I just had to get in front and do the fundamentals."

Duxbury, which managed to tally two strikes in the third, ramped up its intensity during the final quarter, as the Dragons' defense initiated four transition goals to secure their 10th victory.

Senior Will Siefert (4 G, 2A), who was responsible for three of his team’s final strikes, set up shop to the left side of senior Lucas Davis’ cage during the fourth quarter and was able to finish Duxbury's transitions with three consecutive tallies.

“In the fourth quarter we stuck together, and we just started to pick it up, started winning ground balls, and got us the possessions that we needed, so it helped us get the goals,” Siefert said. “My buddy, Sam [Sweet], we’ve played together for a while, and he always finds me there [on] the backside, so I just camp out there and wait for the ball, and try to finish it.”

“I think it starts at the defensive end. We get the ball off the ground, then we get a couple of quick passes, and get into transition, and then once we get a little bit of space, our attack man are pretty good at moving the ball and finding the open guy,” Chris Sweet added.

Senior Jamie McGill and junior Nico Panepinto registered Needham’s final goals with two minutes remaining, but their rally was cut short after Duxbury secured the ball on the ensuing possession, and drained the clock with various passes.

“We knew this was going to be a tough game,” Needham head coach Dave Wainwright said. “We put this on our schedule because we wanted to see where we were at the midpoint of the season, and this is exactly the midpoint. This is game nine for us out of 18, and the fact that we’re at this point right here, we feel as though we’ve got room to grow, but we’ve done a lot of good things along the way.”

“This was a game that we look at the outcome of the score, we’re not happy with it, but we feel as though we can answer some of those problems,” added Wainwright. “We definitely have some talented young men that work real hard and I think they’re going to be ready once it becomes tournament time because we have another half of the season to grow.”

Duxbury narrowly avoided an upset at the hands of Lincoln-Sudbury, so the Dragons remain in the top spot. But there's yet another new No. 2 team in this week's MIAA boys' lacrosse Top 25 poll.

Concord-Carlisle earns its highest ranking to date in the second spot after capturing the Coaches Challenge Cup last weekend.

The big mover of the week was Masconomet, which snuck into the top 10 at No. 8 after a big non-league win over No. 12 Billerica.

We also welcomed two new teams to the Top 25 with Scituate sailing to No. 22 after a win over South Shore rival Norwell. North Reading, off to a 10-0 start, also made its debut at No. 25.

The rankings crew over ESPNHS relased this week's edition of the boys' lacrosse FAB 50 poll.

Again, MIAA No. 1 Duxbury is the only Bay State team represented, but the Dragons slid back to No. 19 after suffering their second loss to New York power Garden City.

Elsewhere, New England's only other entrant to the poll, Darien, Conn., maintained its stranglehold on the 5th overall ranking.