boys' lacrosse
Medfield 8, Dover-Sherborn 7 (2 OT)

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MEDFIELD -- Medfield boys' lacrosse coach Bob Aronson doesn't have a lot of veterans on this year's squad. But he doesn't mind listening to the ones he has.

With his Warriors locked in a sudden-death stalemate with rival Dover-Sherborn, Aronson watched senior Max Zuccarini wave off a play the coach had drawn up for a man-up situation midway through a second overtime session.

Zuccarini, one of just four seniors on this year's squad and a cocaptain with Harry Bodozian, took a glance at the personnel on the field and decided it was time to show why he was chosen a leader this spring.

Taking a feed from Bodozian, Zuccarini potted the winner outside the right post with 2:03 remaining in the second extra session as the Warriors escaped with an 8-7 triumph over visiting Dover-Sherborn.

"Coincidentally, he called a play that ended up with him scoring the winning goal," Aronson said with a smile. "He's a smart player. I called one man-up play and he took a look at the players on the field and didn't think it would work, so he called another play."

Zuccarini admittedly wasn't sure some of his fresh-faced teammates were ready for the crunch time moment. Both teams had let opportunities slide by in the extra session and Zuccarini had played enough lacrosse for the day. He'll gladly let you call him selfish, but the play swap was for the betterment of his team.

"It's just one of those plays that we practice a lot and I was comfortable with it," said Zuccarini. "Harry made a great pass. They've got a great goalie over there in Garrett (Akie). I'm glad we got the win."

The game between border rivals and Thanksgiving Day gridiron foes had a bit of an edge to it, particularly with Dover-Sherborn's success last year coupled with Medfield taking a slight step back this spring (some heads turned with a less-than-dominant 8-5 win over Hopkinton to start the year, but Aronson contends his team will be playing its best lacrosse in June).

The Warriors broke out on top, 2-0, but Dover-Sherborn came back to take a brief lead in the second quarter. Medfield scored the final four goals of the first half -- sparked by a pair of tallies by Jack McDermott -- and seemed to be pulling away, but the Raiders stormed back riding some fine defensive play in the second half.

Trevor Pearson's goal late in regulation knotted things at 7 and forced the extra session. Both teams had quality chances -- though sloppy turnovers did plague both sides in the overtimes -- but it wasn't until nearly six minutes beyond regulation that Zuccarini broke the stalemate.

The winning goal came just moments after the Warriors nearly threw away a possession. A poor pass left midfielders scrambling for possession in front of the Medfield bench, but the Raiders took a foul call after a Medfield middie was tripped up after securing possession.

That put the Warriors in a man-up situation and they took full advantage. Bodozian gained possession behind the net and Zuccarini crashed the cage while running off a little screen from McDermott. Zuccarini caught the pass with a defender in his face and Akie came rushing to contest, but Medfield's senior tucked the ball inside the open right side of the cage to trigger a celebration.

With the win, Medfield now boasts a 76-game winning streak in conference play.

"I didn't want to be 75-1," said Zuccarini. "I think sometimes we take (Dover-Sherborn) for granted, and the whole Tri-Valley League. But that's a great team. I think they're going to do real well in Division 3."

Zuccarini finished with three goals, while Whelan paced the Raiders with a hat trick. Both Medfield freshman netminder Sam Aronson and Akie were solid in net and both saved some of their best play for the overtime session.