The Littleton Tigers beat the Bromfield boys lacrosse team decisively last week, 18–5, crushing the Trojans’ hopes for a title in the MIAA Central/East Division 3 playoffs.
The defeat came Thursday afternoon, June 1, as the second-seeded Tigers (16–2) and seventh-seeded Trojans (11–7) faced off at Littleton in a quarterfinal playoff for the Central/East Division 3 championship. Although the final score was lopsided, the Trojans played hard, and there were no tears when the final whistle blew. Littleton head Coach Mike Blanchard joined Bromfield’s postgame huddle to offer his congratulations. “You guys had a really good season,” he told the players. “You have a lot to be proud of.”
Captain Ross MacMahon scores one of his four goals against Littleton. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Both teams scored early. Littleton sophomore Chris Berger was the first to score just minutes into the game, followed by Bromfield’s Ross MacMahon moments later. But following MacMahon’s goal, the Tigers pulled steadily ahead, scoring an additional five goals before the end of the first quarter and adding 12 more points in the remaining three quarters. Bromfield’s Dylan Ashe scored a second goal halfway into the second quarter, but the team was held scoreless until the final 10 minutes of the game when MacMahon rallied and scored three more times by penetrating the Tiger defense and shooting close to the crease.
Littleton’s offense dominated the contest, a puzzle the Trojans were unable to solve. The team won every draw and was able to keep the ball deep in Bromfield’s defense for most of the game. They also outmatched Bromfield in recovering ground balls. Littleton sophomore Will Scott was his team’s high scorer, with five goals, followed by senior Griffin Shoemaker with four. Senior Jared Collari was credited with five assists.
When the season began, Bromfield’s chances of making the playoffs seemed slim. The team lost four of its first five games, including a 17–2 defeat at the hands of the Littleton Tigers. But in late April the team’s fortunes improved as it won four of its next five contests, culminating in a 12–4 victory over Lunenburg High School May 4, an away game played under lights. “That’s when everything just seemed to click,” recalled Coach Ralph Bono, who is finishing his first season as team coach, and in the end Bromfield finished first among the six teams in the Mid-Wach League Division C. “I couldn’t be happier,” Bono told the Press.
The Bromfield boys varsity lacrosse team. (Courtesy photo)
As he looks ahead to next year, Bono said that although five key players are moving on, there are others “ready to step up.” He expects to have a strong team and to again win the Mid-Wach League Division C title. He had predicted that the team would have a 12–6 season record this year; the Trojan’s 11–7 record was close. He thinks the team can do at least as well next year.
The five seniors departing the team are captains Ross MacMahon and Avery Nasworthy (of Parker Charter School), Joey Calabresi, Sam Hays, and Mathias Smalanskas. MacMahon hopes to play lacrosse as a walk-on at Saint Lawrence University next year.
