WALPOLE, Mass. – The defense was shaky at the beginning of the game. Three early turnovers led to quick Walpole goals, but in the final minute trying to preserve a one-goal lead, the Warriors defense stepped up and made the play to push the team into the second round.
Senior defender Ryan Smith was able to prevent a clean shot from Walpole captain Chris Frye in the closing minutes of Tuesday afternoon’s Division 2 first round matchup and Foxboro held on to win 8-7 and advance.
The Warriors trailed at halftime 5-3 and stormed back in the second half. Foxboro went on a 5-0 run in the third and fourth quarters, sparked by a hat trick from senior attacker Tyler Ames. Head coach Matt Noone was pleased to see his leader step up in the second half when his team needed him.
“Big players step up in big moments and that was it for him right there for him. He’s a captain, he’s a senior, he’s a leader, and he’s been there since he was a freshman,” remarked Noone.
Junior Kyle Sperzel also tallied a hat trick for Foxboro, with two of his goals in the first half, and senior Zach Atanasoff added a pair of goals and an assist. The improved attack got the bench into the game in the second half, but it was better defending that allowed Foxboro to make the comeback.
“We needed to settle down,” said Noone about the Warriors defensive struggles in the first half. “I felt like we were giving them a lot of chances in front of the crease and you can’t do that in the playoffs. We gave them two or three goals right on the doorstep and when you do that, we were lucky to get out of here alive.”
It was Frye that was the beneficiary of Foxboro mistakes, as he capitalized on three turnovers to give Walpole an early lead. He would finish the game with five goals and an assist, which made the final defensive play by Smith so impressive.
Noone noted, “I had Brendan [Lovely, senior defender] on him at the beginning of the game and Brendan was a little too aggressive on him so I decided to change it and put somebody different on him. Luc [Valenza] played him a little bit in the third and then Ryan Smith ended up on him (I’m not sure how that happened) and he played great position defense on him.”
Foxboro though that it had taken control of the game with 11:33 left in the fourth quarter when senior Mike Campbell escaped his defender and put a perfect pass on Ames’ stick. Ames then whipped a behind-the-back shot into the top of the net for a highlight reel goal that made it 8-5.
Walpole stormed back with a pair of goals, but Foxboro held on and Noone was proud of his team’s ability to come on the road (he labeled his team the “Road Warriors”) against an established lacrosse program and get through to the next round.
He commented, “I’m just proud of my boys to come to a program like Walpole today that has been there and done that. I’m just proud to be on this field and play a great program like that.”
Noone added, “It’s a new season. All that stuff that happened is behind us now and it’s a chance to prove who we are and what we’re all about.”
Foxboro, the no. 17 seed, will now travel to take on Hingham, the top seed, on Friday night.