Girls, Boys Lacrosse Advance To State Quarterfinal

The Nantucket girls and boys lacrosse teams came one step closer to their goal following a pair of blowout victories on Wednesday to advance to their state quarterfinals.

The girls kicked things off on Wednesday with a 17-3 win over #15 Fairhaven and the boys followed that performance up with a stellar showing of their own – beating #16 Winthrop 20-4.

For the girls, Whaler head coach Jami Lower has said all season one area she would like to see her team improve in is faster starts to games. Through two games in the state tournament, they have done just that, and it has catapulted them to blowout wins.

"It has been a focal point for us," Lower said. "I think they’ve determined it's up to them, the energy they want to bring. We had that one really, really great first quarter against Falmouth (earlier in the season) and that was a near perfect quarter. Claire (Misurelli) had five saves in the first quarter, and everybody played, everybody touched the ball. I keep referring back to that of like, "Let's play like we did that first quarter in the Falmouth game.' They're working on."

As for the boys, Whaler head coach Sam Aloisi continues to enjoy watching his team mature and develop.

"They just continue to evolve as a team and play as a team offensively and defensively,” Aloisi said. “I think the only team that is going to beat them is themselves. If they keep their heads and play well and do what they're supposed to do, they're hard to beat."

Lower said she continues to be impressed by the play of junior Mayson Lower while Aloisi noted the importance of junior Owen Sullivan in the midfield.

"Mayson freaking worked her butt off," Lower said of her daughter. "She just worked her butt off. Brooke Damian was sick on defense. I thought Brooke and Sam (Zadroga) both just didn't want the ball to go in the net. They really had some great plays.”

"He basically controls the midfield for us,” Aloisi said of Sullivan. “He really just does all the little things that really don't go in the scorebook. He's a ground ball machine. He's smart and rarely gets a penalty. For the amount of time he plays, he's probably got a couple of penalties all year and they were accidental things. He's a very smart lacrosse player. He doesn't make many mistakes and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. When he's in that place, he can make the play as well. He's huge for us. When he was out, it was even more evident. We had some guys like Mike (Culkins) fill in, Canton (Jenkinson) but yeah, Owen is a big part of the team.”

For the lady Whalers, seniors Bailey Lower (six goals and seven assists), Cydney Mosscrop (five goals and two assists), and Emerson Pekarcik (two goals and three assists) paced the Nantucket attack. Mayson Lower and Dylan Damian also had two goals.

For the boys, they had eight different goal scorers. Senior captain Cole Chambers had a fantastic afternoon and finished with three goals and five assists. His playmaking ability was very noticeable all afternoon.

Seniors Jack Halik and Colby O’Keefe each had four goals. Sophomore Arann Hanlon finished with three goals and two assists. Senior Michael Culkins and sophomore Jake Grant scored two goals. Owen Sullivan and sophomore Tyler Miller had one goal each. Senior Ryan Davis added a pair of assists.

Both teams now shift their sights to the Div. 4 state quarterfinals and once again, they will play back-to-back at Vito Capizzo Stadium on Saturday, June 8.

The girls will host #7 Norwell at 11:45 a.m. The Clippers finished their regular season 9-10 due to a strong strength of schedule, and it has paid off for them thus far in state tournament play. They beat #26 Bromfield School 20-4 in the Round of 32 and then beat #10 Tahanto Regional High School in the Round of 16 by a score of 16-4.

The Whalers have yet to lose a game this season and are 22-0 including state tournament play – beating Hampshire Regional High School 16-0 in the Round of 32 and then Fairhaven 17-3 in the Round of 16.

The boys will play at 3 p.m. on Saturday and are facing #8 Manchester Essex. The Hornets finished their regular season with a 14-4 record. Manchester Essex beat #25 Bourne 17-6 in the Round of 32 and then beat #9 Nipmuc Regional High School in the Round of 16 by a score of 10-4.

The Whalers finished their season 16-1 and haven’t lost since their third game of the season – a road matchup against Falmouth on April 9. While the Whalers lost that game 13-7, they eventually got their revenge and beat Falmouth later in the season on May 2 8-4 at home.

So far in tournament play, Nantucket has beaten #32 Littleton 19-3 in the Round of 32 and then beat #16 Winthrop 20-4 in the Round of 16.

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