D-S Boys Lax Advance To Semi-Finals With Win Over Norwell

The D-S boys varsity lacrosse team found themselves down 2-0 in the early going of Monday's playoff game against Norwell.

But the Raiders defense clamped down on the Clippers allowing D-S to score five unanswered goals to close out the first quarter of the game with a 5-2 lead.

With tough goaltending by All-American Jeff Williams and shut-down defense by senior Jake Vacovec, D-S didn't allow Norwell another goal until there was 1.3 seconds left in the second quarter.

The Raiders won the game, 8-4, with a well-balanced attack of timely goal scoring and tough play on D.

“I thought we played one of our best games of the year and just came up a little bit short," said Norwell head coach Chris McGuirk. “Offensively we didn’t execute quite as well as we could have but that’s really more of a credit to [their] team.”

Norwell's defense played great throughout most of the game, frustrating the Raiders and forcing them into several shots that went wide of the net.

“Their defense was really packed in tight and we did not shoot as well as we could have,” said Dover-Sherborn head coach Brian McLaughlin.

McGuirk said, "I thought defensively we played one of our best games of the year, our goalie played great and our D, all young guys in there, came a long way this year and really played well.”

The Clippers struck first in the third quarter to make it a one goal game, 5-4.

But Norwell wouldn't score again for the remainder of the game and for the Raiders, it was only a matter of time before their high-powered offense would find a way to put more in the back of the net.

McLaughlin said of his team's defense: “They’ve been improving everyday and they’re playing great. They kept us in there. They gave up two [goals] early, and then they shut them down for quite a bit of time. They were playing great.”

“We got a couple nice goals. I didn’t think we finished as well as we have in the past. I don’t know if we got a little selfish today, we didn’t seem like we were making that one extra pass to get an easier shot. But we did do enough against a very good Norwell team to get the win so that was good,” McLaughlin said.

The Raiders next game will be in the semi-finals at home against fourth-seeded North Reading on Thursday at 5:00 p.m.