SHREWSBURY – It’s official – the rivalry will be renewed.
On Wednesday, the sixth-seeded Westfield Bombers upset No. 2 St. John’s on the road in a Central-West Division 2 boys’ lacrosse semifinal thriller 8-7. The victory set up a championship meeting with No. 1 Longmeadow Friday night at East Longmeadow High School at 6.
Westfield (14-7) secured its trip to the finals with a five-goal, second-quarter outburst. The Bombers shut out St. John’s in the second quarter, and staved off a late rally.
Westfield attempts to screen off a St. John’s defender to begin its offensive run in the Division 2 boys’ lacrosse semifinals Wednesday in Shrewsbury. (Photo by Chris Putz)
Westfield’s Zach Gentle did a great job dodging inside the box to help kill the clock in the waning seconds. Mitch Weiss intercepted a pass and cleared the ball to end the game.
Max Maggipinto (3 goals, 1 assist), Zach Gentle (2 goals, 1 assist), Landon Reyes (1 goal, 1assist), Matt Bonsall (1 goal), Zach Cree (1 goal), Kohl Lunardini (1 assist), and Nicholas Clauson (1 assist) provided Westfield’s offensive punch.
Westfield goalie Alex Beauchemin finished with 10 saves.
Mitch Weiss was stellar defensively for Westfield. Gavin Carzello and Kris Meneses were also very good at close “D,” and Tyler Shrewsbury and Dan Antonellis were critical in the midfield on defense, as well, alongside long-stick midfielder Zach Cree.
Cree scored in the third quarter, and forced a critical turnover in the final minute of regulation.
Chris Ward helped spark the team by winning several face-offs and ground balls.
