2 days Ago By Brendan Connelly
WELLESLEY — Some teams may been stressed by a team bus issue. Not the Walpole girls lacrosse squad. UMass commit Caitlyn Naughton had another big performance, finishing with five goals and an assist Tuesday as Walpole erupted for a convincing 13-8 victory over one of the state’s best in Wellesley.
“When we play each other, you’re dead if you can’t get motivated for a game like this,” said Walpole coach Mike Tosone. “Because Wellesley is terrific, Steve (Balter) is terrific. We’re good, it’s a rivalry.
It’s a heated rivalry, but I think we both respect the hell out of each other. There are no buttons that I had to push to get the girls ready. Just playing Wellesley is enough.
” The Timberwolves had to get ready in short order after their bus arrived late. The Bay State Conference rivals had clashed in multiple classics over the years, and both were off to strong starts this season. Entering Tuesday’s showdown, they were seeded back-to-back in the Boston Herald’s top 25 with Walpole (10-0) at No.
3 and Wellesley in fourth. The matchup hinted at a nail-biter early. After Emily Hagan provided Walpole an early 1-0 edge about three minutes into play, Wellesley (6-3) answered with force.
Raiders senior captain Kaitlyn Uller had consecutive goals as Wellesley jumped ahead. The Raiders made it 3-1 with about four minutes to go in the frame, as Olivia Comella fired home a shot. The Timberwolves appeared to be reeling.
But Hagan buried her second goal before Naughton netted two herself as Walpole stormed back to seize a 4-3 lead with 10 minutes to go in the half. “I think when we start down, it just motivates us more,” Naughton said. “We knew how important this game was, and how important each possession is going to be, especially with the draw.
” Then, Walpole controlled the tempo. Sophia Fruci and Jenna Wong sniped two more, as the Timberwolves rattled off five unanswered tallies. “I think the key to that stretch, and quite frankly one of the biggest keys to the game, was the fact that we did very well at the draw,” said Tosone.
“Wellesley’s always terrific at the draw, and anytime we play them, if we can stalemate them, that’s great.” Once the third quarter began, Walpole put things out of reach as Hagan and Fruci each scored. Wong also scored as the Timberwolves cruised into the final frame with an 11-4 advantage.
“We knew that this was going to be a big game,” Wong said. “I think this win meant a lot, and we prepared ourselves (well).” While Wellesley turned it on in the fourth quarter, the deficit was too big of a hole to climb out of.
“The 11 field players, as a unit, are probably the fastest and the most athletic that we’ve ever had together,” Tosone said. “That’s saying something, because we’ve always had that as a strong suit.”.
