‘Magical’ season ends for CHS boys’ lax team

The Bulldogs pose for a photo after knocking off Archbishop Williams in the Division 3 state quarterfinals.

After demolishing No. 12 Archbishop Williams for a school-record third straight postseason victory, the Canton High boys’ lacrosse team headed south to Cohasset last week where they finally ran out of steam against the top-seeded Skippers in the Division 3 state semifinals.

For the fourth-seeded Bulldogs, Thursday’s 14-8, season-ending loss was entirely forgivable yet ultimately disappointing — forgivable because they were a road underdog playing one of the best teams in the state, but disappointing because they had made it so far and had long since proved they belonged among the elite.

“We didn’t play as well as we could have played,” said head coach Bill Bendell, “but it was a magical season. It definitely was magical.”

Bendell, of course, was referring to the team’s near-perfect regular season and first-ever Hockomock title, its 18-2 overall record and storybook run to the state final four, and all of the other memorable and historic moments that combined to make this season the best in program history.

For all of these reasons plus the fact that a potential state championship was on the line, Bendell felt the timing of the Cohasset game, although unavoidable, could not have been worse for his senior-laden squad, as it was sandwiched between the CHS senior prom, senior banquet, and graduation.

“It was such a shame,” he said. “We had very little time to prepare and we couldn’t really game plan for them.”

Considering the circumstances, the Bulldogs actually looked great in the early going and went into the second quarter nursing a 3-2 advantage. But the lead quickly evaporated as the Skippers embarked on a spirit-crushing, eight-goal run to make it 10-3 at the half.

“That run was just impressive,” acknowledged Bendell after the game. “We could not stop the momentum.”

For a brief stretch during Cohasset’s onslaught, the Bulldogs let their emotions get the best of them. But they managed to regroup, and during halftime Bendell said the team came together and agreed to ignore the scoreboard, play hard, and simply enjoy the rest of the game.

And that approach seemed to pay off as Canton played a much better second half, turning a 12-4 blowout into a competitive game down the stretch. The Bulldogs scored three in a row at one point and cut the deficit to five before the Skippers tacked on a late goal to make it a 14-8 final.

“There were nothing but smiles on my face after the game,” said Bendell. “Obviously we wanted to win, but it was a fun ride and I was really proud of how our guys handled themselves.”

Seniors Pat Ward and Matt Lennon and sophomore Tommy Galvin each finished with two goals in the loss, while seniors JC Marcone and Kurt Leavitt contributed one goal apiece. Freshman Ben O’Neill also played well, tallying a pair of assists.

As for their quarterfinal matchup against Archbishop Williams earlier in the week, the Bulldogs turned a close game into a blowout after a costly miscue by the Bishops just before halftime gave the ball back to Canton to open the third quarter.

Lennon took the ball and quickly scored to make it 5-3, and the Bulldogs were off to the races, outscoring the Bishops 12-4 over the final two quarters.

“That opened the floodgates,” Bendell said of Lennon’s goal. “We grabbed the momentum from there and didn’t look back.”

Marcone, the Bulldogs’ second-leading scorer this season behind Ward, paced the victors with five goals and one assist, and junior Austin Zannino turned in his finest performance to date with two goals and two assists. Leavitt, Ward, and sophomore Paul Swart also had two goals in the win, while Galvin added one goal and four assists.

The Bulldog defense, which had been a strength of the team all season, played great in both games last week, led by senior captain Conor O’Brien and juniors Matt Bagley and Quinn Merrigan.

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