Dogged effort lifts Needham to victory
The ninth-ranked Needham girls' lacrosse team entered last night's game against No. 7 Andover as the underdog but left Cricket Field in Needham flying high after scoring a 14-13 win.
Needham (11-2-1) raced to 3-1 before the Warriors caught up and took a 7-6 lead at the half.
After twice trading goals early in the second half, the hosts scored three straight - two by sophomore Elizabeth Morse (who also had four assists) and another by senior captain Marisa Aubin (three goals, one assist) - to take an 11-9 lead.
Draw control became key for the Rockets, who commanded the circle for most of the second stanza.
"What we knew from the beginning was it was all about draw control," said Needham coach Beth O'Brien. "Draw control was going to win this game because we knew that typically we matched [Andover] pretty evenly. We have very similar offenses and very similar defenses; it just came down to possession on the draw."
Andover (10-4-1) threatened to tie as Katelyn Caro converted an 8-meter shot to get her team within a goal with 8:53 left, but the Needham defense was solid and netminder Sammy Kay-Green (nine saves) made a lot of big stops to keep her team ahead.
Other multiple scorers for the Rockets included senior captains Sara Reddington (four goals, one assist) and Kelley Stenberg (two goals, three assists), as well as sophomore Meghan Conley (two goals, two assists).
Ilana Cohen led Andover with three goals and two assists.
Dual County: Colleen Strachan netted eight goals and Anna Walling posted 10 saves as Bedford downed Newton South, 13-6.
Hockomock: Brittany Lyons (eight goals, one assist) and Ali Boudreau (six goals, two assists) propelled Canton past Foxboro, 18-10.
Boys' lacrosse
Bay State: Dan Monahan tallied 27 saves as Newton North held off Braintree, 6-4.
Dual County: Nick Strombosky netted the winner with there minutes to play as Westford defeated Tyngsboro, 12-11.
Baseball
Cape Ann: Mark Bokuniewicz came home from second on Brian O'Neil's walkoff single, giving North Reading a 2-1 win over visiting Georgetown.
Merrimack Valley: Unranked Haverhill came back from a 5-1 deficit to pull off a 7-6 upset over No. 2 Tewksbury. Leif Sorenson (seven strikeouts) spearheaded the effort, striking out Tewksbury's last batter and scoring the winning run on a suicide squeeze in the top of the sixth. He finished with two hits and three runs.
Nonleague: Lowell (8-5) handed No. 1 Malden Catholic (12-2) its second loss of the season, 10-6, behind solid pitching from Anyelo Roman and T.J. Wallace . . . Peter Neal stole home in the bottom of the seventh to propel St. John's Prep past St. Peter Marian, 3-2.
Softball
Catholic Conference: Hannah Hill, Emalee Watkins, and Ashley Daniels each went 3 for 4 with a home run as Arlington Catholic blanked Bishop Fenwick, 7-0 . . . Caitlin Cawley allowed just two hits and no walks in Fontbonne's 12-1 win over Ursuline.
Greater Boston: Laura McCabe cracked the winning single in the ninth to boost Arlington past Waltham, 13-12.
Hockomock: Colleen Moriarty's RBI single in the top of the seventh lifted Canton to a 5-4 win over North Attleboro.
Mayflower: Katelyn Paler (5 for 5, three RBIs) and Taylor Miller (4 for 5, five RBIs) led West Bridgewater in a 21-0 shutout over Holbrook.
Nonleague: Jen Smallwood went 3 for 5 with five RBIs and Molly Stone was 4 for 5 with three RBIs as Trinity Catholic battled to a 24-16 win over Fenway.
Boys' tennis
Cape Ann: Undefeated Hamilton-Wenham (8-0) handed Masconomet (9-1) its first loss of the season, 3-2. Charlie Graves sealed the win with a comeback three-set win in No. 2 singles.
Globe correspondent Maggie Cassidy contributed to this report.
