Two North Shore boys lacrosse teams are continuing their quests for state championships Tuesday afternoon — one at home and one on the road.
Both St. John’s Prep, the top seed in Division 1, and Lynnfield (No. 6 in Division 4) will play a round of 8 games, which amount to state semifinal games in both brackets. The Eagles host Needham at Glatz Field on their campus at 5 p.m. while the Pioneers will travel to No. 3 Wahconah at 4:30 p.m.
Both the Prep and the Pioneers earned first-round byes in their 2022 tournament voyages. Lynnfield began its tournament action with a 23-2 rout over Tri County in the Round-of-32. They had it a little tougher a few days later when they went up against No. 11 Advanced Math and Science, tallying a 14-9 win.
In that game, the Pioneers were led by the offensive talents of Will Steadman, who finished the game with three goals and three assists. Drew Damiani added three goals and two assists, while Jack Calichman had two goals and three assists.
Will Norton notched four goals to lead the scoring attack, while Kelan Cardinal notched two goals and two assists. AJ Chiaradonna picked up seven ground balls, while goalie Ben Pimentel notched seven saves to earn the win-in net.
The 16-4 Pioneers will now be faced with their first road game of the state tournament.
St. John’s vs. Needham
Tuesday, at St. John’s, 5 p.m.
It’s been smooth sailing so far for the Eagles, who go into today’s game with a 19-1 record.
After its preliminary-round bye, the Prep got to work against No. 32 Belmont, pitching a 15-0 shutout in the Round-of-32 game. The Eagles broke out to a quick 9-0 lead and had the luxury of resting a lot of their starters in favor of freshmen and sophomores, who don’t get to play often.
Twelve different Eagles ended up scoring, including five freshmen. Charlie Wilmot, Jimmy Ayers, and Luke Kelly each scored two goals, while Tommy Sarni and Rowan Mondello each had one goal and one assist.
Max Perault, Jackson Quigley, Nick Brandano, Joe Bullard, Josh Haarmann, Jimmy Ellard, and Chris Esposito each scored one goal, while Ben Merena notched one assist. Goalies Teddy Cullinane (one save) and Austin Kitces (two saves) combined to earn the shutout in net.
In the Round-of-32, the Eagles defeated Catholic Conference rival Catholic Memorial, 16-4. It was another big day for Ayers, who led the Prep with three goals and three assists. Sarni had three goals and two assists, while Lucas Verrier had two goals and one assist. Josh Haarmann had two goals, while Chris Esposito, Luke Kelly, Matt Morrow, Harlan Graber, Joe Bullar, and Trevor McInnis each scored one goal.
Brendan Powers notched one assist, while Christian Rooney, Nick Bernarducci, and Nolan Philpott played well on the defensive side. Goalies Teddy Cullinane (five saves) and Gavin Kornitsky (three saves) combined for the win-in net.
