Winchester hangs tough, beats Norwell

The Winchester trio of (from left) Beckey Bratt, Kyla Tucci, and Meg Sullivan celebrate Bratt's second-half goal. Sullivan scored four goals to spearhead the Sachem attack. (Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff)

WELLESLEY - After three years of frustration, the Winchester girls' lacrosse team is celebrating today. Actually, the celebration started last night, when the Sachems edged Norwell, 9-8, to capture their first Division 2 state championship.

"It's unbelievable. I mean, I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my senior year," said senior captain Meg Sullivan, who scored four goals as her team finally broke through after three straight fruitless trips to the state title game. "I'm so proud of this team. We've worked so hard for this . . . I couldn't have asked for better teammates, I couldn't have asked for them to put more effort in [than they did] tonight. They played awesome."

It came down to the wire in this intense matchup. With Winchester (20-1-2) leading, 9-7, with 3:49 left to play, Norwell freshman Molly Cox slowly rolled in what appeared to be a goal. However, officials huddled and gave Norwell an 8-meter shot instead.

It turned out to be a huge call, as Cox's shot soared over the crossbar, allowing Winchester to maintain its two-goal advantage.

"I just take it in stride. I have to focus on the next play, I can't just think about what just happened and the girls help me do that," said Winchester goalie Chelsea Osborne, who finished with 13 saves. "We all have to just keep our eye on the prize and focus on what we have to get done and I think we did that very well."

Neither team was able to take control of this tightly-contested affair. Norwell (16-9) got its offense going first, as Olivia Huie converted an 8-meter shot 2:11 into the first half. But Sullivan didn't waste time answering, scoring two straight goals to go along with junior Caroline Martignetti's two tallies, giving Winchester a 3-1 lead.

With one second remaining on the first-half clock, Martignetti was awarded an 8-meter shot and snuck the ball in the net, breaking a 5-5 deadlock.

Once the second half started, Sullivan showed her skills. Racing across the midfield into the Norwell zone, Sullivan punched one in for another two-goal lead. But the Clippers refused to back down as senior Jill Cammett (three goals) beat Osborne to cut the deficit to 1 and Cox tied it at 7-7 with 12:50 remaining.

However, the Clippers couldn't connect in the end and Winchester picked up the key possession and held on to make sure Norwell didn't have any late chances to tie the game.

"I thought the girls played great," said Winchester coach Suzanne Ontso. "I thought Meg Sullivan stepped up her game. Chelsea came up huge for us. It was a perfect state final, down to the wire. Everyone [had to step it up], this wasn't a one-man show.

"It's just huge. The beauty of coaching is I get to try every year and these kids don't, so with 10 seniors to have them [win the state championship] is just awesome."