Beverly lacrosse makes it back-to-back North titles

BEVERLY – With a dominant 12-4 win over No. 3 Marblehead on Friday at Endicott College, the top-seeded Beverly Panthers are the Division 2 North champions.
The Panthers (17-6) will go on to play the Central/West Division 2 champion, Longmeadow, in the state semifinals on Monday at 7 p.m. in Burlington.
The Panthers maintained possession for the vast majority of the last quarter, and scored six unanswered goals. Clinto Cabral netted two while Ian Butler, Chris Vallette, Peter Mulumba, and Jordan Rawding scored one apiece as Beverly pulled away.
Some penalty trouble in the last minutes of the game benefited the Magicians, as Brooks Tyrell scored with a two-man advantage. The Magicians kept the pressure on late, but none of their shots found the net.
It looked like the game would be a tight, low-scoring affair in the first quarter. Time of possession seemed to be split pretty evenly between the two teams, and both defenses looked impenetrable.
Marblehead (16-7) made a serious run at a goal in the final few seconds of the quarter, but Beverly goalie Kevin Morency made a great save to keep the game scoreless.
Beverly?s Kyle Chouinard broke through with the game?s first goal seconds into the second quarter. But Marblehead hung tough and kept Beverly off the board until seven minutes into the half, when Cabral and Butler extended the Panthers? lead to three.
The Panthers began to dominate possession, winning every faceoff and forcing turnovers. Mulumba netted the Panthers? fourth goal with 3:47 left in the half. But the Magicians were able to get on the board before the quarter ended, as sophomore Andrew McGurrin scored.
Sam Paquette got the Magicians within two early in the second half, but Beverly?s Vallette responded and put the Panthers on top, 5-2.
Marblehead got some momentum going as Hillman Hollister fired a shot with two minutes left in the quarter, but Morency was able to get in front of it, and Beverly regained possession. Keegan Kolbert got a breakaway and put Beverly up by four.
Brooks Tyrrell added another for the Magicians before the quarter ended, but in the fourth, it was all Beverly.
?We lost a lot of guys on defense (after last season), but the guys who stepped in have been great,” said Panthers coach John Pynchon. “Morency has been unreal. I?m really proud of the guys because they?ve worked very hard and they understand what this program is all about. So when we graduate guys, I think it hurts, but these guys are ready to go and they know what?s expected of them.”
The fact that eight different players scored for Beverly is a continuation of what Beverly?s done all season long.
?Last year we had someone score over 100 points, but this year was pretty balanced,” Pynchon said. “Cabral was our leading scorer, but we had six guys score over 40 points. The kids play a great, unselfish game, and they do a great job working as a team.”
For Marblehead, it was a tough ending to a very strong season.
?We laid an egg on that one,” said Magicians coach John Wilkens. “They played a great game, their goalie deserves all the credit, he made some great saves.
?(We played a) good first quarter, the ball wasn?t dropping for us. But credit goes to Beverly. They did a better job than us, bottom line. It?s frustrating, because I have a good group of guys here, and they?re frustrated themselves.”
One of the main issues for Marblehead was the inability to maintain possession.
?Second chances were the problem,” said Wilkens. “We make a good stop and turn it over and they scoop up the ground ball. We talk about that all the time. It cost us big time today.”
The Magicians will lose 12 seniors this season, including Northeastern Conference all-star goalie Nathan Maselek, and Tyrrell, the team?s leading scorer.
?He?s been great,” Wilkens said of Tyrrell. “It?s the first year he?s been healthy all season and he?s put up over 100 points. He?s been a workhorse. I give him all the credit and I wish him the most success going f