As the second half of the Western Massachusetts Division II boys’ lacrosse quarterfinal began yesterday, the scoreboard froze with Westfield leading Minnechaug 3-0. The fifth-seeded Bombers probably wish time had stood still, too, as the Falcons rallied for seven unanswered goals en route to a 7-4 win.
Minnechaug’s Frank Kochanowski scored five goals to spark the furious comeback.
Reed McLean bounced in the first Minnechaug goal from about seven yards out five minutes into the third quarter. Kochanowski notched a wraparound goal a minute later, and the tying score with 14 ticks on the clock.
Kochanowski scored three of the next four goals, and McLean tallied one as the Falcons swooped away with the victory.
Max Miller netted a goal with 1:01 remaining in regulation to stop the Minnechaug streak. Kevin Papineau attempted to sling a shot in in the final half-minute, but Falcons goalie John Dusel came up with the save. Dusel finished with 17 saves.
“We wore down a little bit,” Westfield coach Mark Cavallon said. “There were situations where our second slot player wasn’t there, and they cashed in.”
It was a tale of two halves.
Westfield (13-8) had one of the most dominating defensive performances of the first half, stifling Minnechaug. In the first quarter alone, the Bombers outshot the Falcons, 8-1.
Three of those shots found the back of the net.
Westfield’s Alex Quarterley started at the backline, came around the front of the Minnechaug goal and flicked the ball past Dusel with 9:57 left in the first quarter. Justin Halls scored less than a minute later on a nice feed from Andy Marrotte. Quarterley backed up three defenders and muscled the team’s third goal with 7:16 on the clock.
“It was schizophrenic,” Minnechaug coach Russ Mooney said. “Heights and pits. We were able to reach down after we put ourselves in a hole.
“Fortunately we made some adjustments on our faceoff against the best kid in faceoffs,” the coach said referring to Bombers’ Matt Lacroix. “In the second half, we were able to put the ball down, pick it up, and continue. …I can’t say enough about how much better (Westfield) got as the season went along. It’s scary how many players they have coming back next year. They’re going to be a tough out.”
