CHS boys lax stuns Sharon, wins Davenport crown

Update: With a win over Attleboro on Wednesday, the CHS boys lacrosse team clinched the 2015 Davenport Division championship. The Bulldogs finished with a 6-3 league record and will wrap up the regular season with four straight nonleague games.

Only two weeks removed from upsetting highly ranked Foxboro, the CHS boys lacrosse team made the short trip to Sharon on Monday in search of another signature win — and they earned it in the most thrilling way possible, storming back from six goals down to win in overtime on the Eagles’ home turf.

Senior captain Tommy Galvin (Mike Barucci photo)

Led by the lethal attacking combination of junior captain Ben O’Neill and senior Paul Swart, the Bulldogs were able to methodically erase an 8-2 deficit before finally delivering the equalizer with only 90 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Two and a half minutes into the overtime period, Swart would find sophomore Joe Mulkay, who passed it off to O’Neill for the game-winning goal and his team-leading sixth of the night.

In pulling off the stunning victory — against the defending division champs no less — the Bulldogs not only proved something to themselves; they also seized control of the Davenport Division while sending a message to other would-be challengers that they are very much a team to be reckoned with.

“It was a great win,” confirmed head coach Bill Bendell, who raved about the team’s patience and resolve after an uncharacteristically “sloppy” opening quarter.

Bendell said the early struggles were due to a combination of factors — the quality of the opponent, a lack of execution, and an inability to stay out of the penalty box. But the players and coaches never lost confidence, he said, and the tide began to turn midway through the second quarter as the Bulldogs scored three straight to make it 8-5 at the half.

“We told our guys that if we stay out of the box, then we’re going to beat this team because they can’t stop us on offense,” Bendell said. “On defense, we executed our game plan — we took away their good players and made lesser players try to beat us.”

O’Neill and Swart were a two-man wrecking crew, combining for 10 of the team’s 13 goals in the win. Senior captain Tommy Galvin also had a big game for the visitors, contributing two goals and one assist.

Other top performers included Mulkay (1g, 2a), senior Aidan Carr (2a), and sophomore Shaun Kirby, who drew a huge penalty in OT that helped set up the game-winning goal.

“Our guys really did a great job of diagnosing and taking what the defense was giving us,” said Bendell. “It was really awesome to see.”

Also contributing to the victory was sophomore Matt Mackay, who won the bulk of the faceoffs in conjunction with sophomore Michael Pigeon on the wing. Bendell said Mackay has become the team’s primary faceoff man and has made a “huge difference” since stepping into the role a few games ago.

With the win over the Eagles, Canton is now a perfect 5 for 5 against division opponents and entered Wednesday’s game at 8-4 overall. Last week, the Bulldogs lost a close one to nonleague Scituate — a fellow Division 2 playoff team — but they rebounded with a blowout win against Milford two days later.

Galvin led the way with six points (3g, 3a) while Kirby had a team-high four goals in the win. Junior Eddie McCabe and sophomore Dan Dillon both also notched their first goal of the season as Canton cruised to a 15-1 victory at home.

The Bulldogs could wrap up at least a share of the Davenport with a win over Attleboro this week. The team will then close out the regular season with four straight nonleague games, beginning with a road game tomorrow against Quincy and followed by three at home against Norwell, Medway and Abington.

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Posted by Jay Turner on May 14 2015. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.