WORCESTER – Suddenly, the offense clicked. Suddenly, every draw was theirs. Suddenly, there was a chance.
Lincoln-Sudbury ripped off three goals in a span of 59 seconds – two within 25 ticks – the impossible appeared possible. The Warriors then won the ensuing draw, but the chance for a miracle comeback ended there as BC High ran out the clock to win the Division 1 state boys lacrosse title with a 10-9 victory on a warm late Friday afternoon at Worcester State University.
After the Eagles received the championship trophy, the L-S players slowly left the turf at Coughlin Memorial Field. Some had tears in their eyes, some wiped away blood – all walked off in silence.
“Our guys never quit,” L-S coach Brian Vona said. “I just wish it happened a little earlier. Our guys don’t quit; that’s Lincoln-Sudbury lacrosse right there.”
The comeback started with an unlikely source as defender Caleb Elenbaas scored with less than three minutes remaining to pull the Warriors to within 10-6. BC High and goalie TJ Emsing had dominated much of the game; an unlikely scenario considering L-S’ dominance in the playoffs – a 61-17 goal differential heading into the day.
Brendan Dooley connected on a hat-trick goal with 1:49 left before the uprising continued when Brady Malo ripped the net at the 1:15 mark. Kaeden Ryan then spun and fired in a goal with 50 seconds left to bring the L-S crowd – a little thin at this point – to life.
But the Eagles soon celebrated their first state title since 2018.
L-S fell behind 5-0 and 8-2 and had trouble building momentum. Emsing came up with several timely stops to keep BC High comfortably in front.
“Their goalie and their faceoff guy were unbelievable,” Vona said. “Their goalie made saves at really key times and really shut us down. The pace of the game was trouble for us.”
Lincoln-Sudbury is still the last public school to win D1 states, in 2019. This season, the Warriors lost to just one in-state team during the regular season (St. John’s Prep) and played teams from New Hampshire, New York and New Jersey. Vona was pleased with how the spring transpired, despite the end result.
L-S last won a state title seven years ago, when the Warriors soared to an early 7-0 lead and defeated Hingham 16-7 for the program’s fourth crown in five years. Senior captain Johnny Herlihy scored four goals.
“I said it at the beginning of the year, I’ll say it again: I’m very grateful to be here,” he said.
Vona coached his youngest son, Owen, a senior captain, for the last time on Friday. The father cherished the experience.
“It’s awesome. He’s a leader; he wears it on his sleeve,” Brian Vona said. “I’d say coaching your son is difficult to do, but not with him. He loves his teammates.”
Brian Vona, who has 405 wins and is tied for sixth place in state history with Rick Mazzei, was non-commital when asked if he was retiring from coaching.
“I’ll talk about that,” he said, “some other time.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Instagram at tdumas1.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Lincoln-Sudbury nearly pulls off stunning rally, falls in state final
