Boys Lacrosse Team Qualifies for State Tournament

The boys lacrosse team with new head coach Chris Doyle during the home opener.

– Allison Goldsberry

The boys varsity lacrosse team clinched a state tournament spot with a 15-5 win over North Quincy on Friday.

The Mustangs pulled out the win despite a bus snafu that made Medford over an hour late for its 3:45PM game. The team had no time to warm up and ended the first quarter with a small 4-3 lead.

“I considered the first quarter to be our warmup, as we were slow to slide and slow to move out feet on defense,” said Head Coach Chris Doyle, in his first season coaching Medford. “We then settled in and played much better defense, had some nice saves from [goalie] Steve Center, and some great transitions. Our off ball movement was terrific, and we played some great heads up lacrosse.”

Steve Mahoney, a former middie who converted to long stick midfielder, had a “nice fast break goal, recognizing the late slide” from the North Quincy defense and taking “advantage of the space in front of him.” All three of the Mustangs’ attack had at least three goals and at least four points, said Coach Doyle.

Chris McCarthy led the team with four goals and three assists. Brian Whooley and Dan Bozovic each added three goals, Anthony Tortora had two goals and three assists, Owen Healey added a goal and three assists, and Conor Lonergan had a goal. Defenseman Nick Olivier, new to the game, had a “nice assist,” picking up a ground ball and running it down the field before making a “nice feed,” said Doyle.

The win improves the Mustangs’ record to 10-2 heading into Monday’s road game against Malden. A win on Monday would also clinch the an undefeated GBL title for Medford.