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Marblehead’s Drew Cioffi had a huge game to open the Division 2 North tournament on Wednesday, notching five goals and five assists against Northeast Regional.
By MIKE ALONGI
MARBLEHEAD — Everything was clicking for the Marblehead boys lacrosse team Wednesday afternoon, as the No. 7 Magicians defeated the No. 10 Northeast Regional Knights, 20-5, in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament at Piper Field.
Drew Cioffi had a huge game for Marblehead (10-9), notching five goals and five assists to lead the team in scoring. Sam Cioffi was almost as prolific, finishing with five goals and four assists. Andrew McGurrin had two goals and one assist and Sam Paquette had one goal and one assist. Joe Cronin, Andy Clough, Manning Sears, Craig Nolan, Toby Sanders, Harry Craig and Will Kruger each had one goal. Ridge Driscoll notched one assist. Goalies Neal Murray and Will Thompson combined for seven saves in the net.
“We were a little surprised to have a home game today, to be honest, but the guys were really excited,” said Marblehead coach John Wilkens. “We had teams start fast on us all year, so to be able to get out to a big lead early on today was big for us.”
For Northeast, Max Trafone led the way with one goal and three assists. Mike Trafone, Anthony Vozzella and Ryan Caffarella each scored one goal. Goalie Nick Pucci had eight saves.
It was all Marblehead from the opening faceoff, with the Magicians scoring three goals in the first 1:45 of game action. Marblehead was able to stretch the lead out to 9-0 by the end of the first quarter.
The Cioffi brothers did most of the damage in the first quarter, with Drew notching three goals and three assists and Sam putting up two goals and one assist but the time the horn sounded.
“They’re really good together,” said Wilkens. “They both shoot the ball well and they have a good knack for each other, and to get that many points from them is a big boost.”
The Magicians were also playing some ferocious defense all game long. Every time a Northeast player caught a ball or made a move toward the net, Marblehead was able to move in and get either a body or a stick in the way. Wilkens said they’ve been moving some players around on the back end and it’s beginning to work out for them.
“The guys are playing well together and they have a lot of confidence right now,” said Wilkens. “We’ve brought some new guys into the mix and we’re just going to go with what’s working at the time, and that’s worked out well for us lately.”
The Magicians took a 15-2 lead into halftime and brought in the substitutions for the second half.
With the win, the Magicians will move on to face the No. 2 Winchester Sachems (13-5) in the quarterfinals on Friday in Winchester. The two have already played once this year, with Marblehead winning a close one, 11-10, on May 23.
“They’ve got some really good players over there and it’s going to be a tough test for us,” said Wilkens. “We just need to keep up this level of play, stay loose and do whatever works to beat them.”
