Boys Hockey Rhode Island Tournament Preview

Then freshman, Matt Crowell scores
his first High School goal the last time
Medfield traveled to Burrillville.
(Photo by Shannon Haggerty)

This week the boys hockey team will travel out of state and face off with a couple foes south of the Mass border. As part of the Burrillville Invitational (in Burrillville, Rhode Island) Medfield will take on Lincoln RI and tournament host Burrillville as part of a six-team tournament. The championship game will be based off a goal differential system.

Tonight the contestant is Lincoln and they are a welcome challenge. The Lions hold a perfect 5-0-0 record coming into this game and are riding an impressive 31 game unbeaten streak dating back to February 25th 2012. Last season, they won the Rhode Island Division II State Championship

Breaking down the streak
The lone blemish on the Lions’ record last year was a 3-3 tie with Cumberland on February 1st  and since then they have been perfect. Last year was the first year Lincoln was a member of Division II and when they were in DI in 2012, they did not fare so well. They went 5-11-2 before running the table in DII.

Medfield on the other hand, since losing to Medway last January 10th is 16-0-1-1 (Loss to Pembroke in the playoffs was a shootout loss). Tonight’s game will see one of these teams impressive steaks end and something has to give.
Game 2
Tuesday night, Medfield will face Burrillville, the last team to beat Lincoln. Burrillville is the hometown of Medfield head coach Toby Carlow, who back in the day suited up for the Broncos. This year, Burrillville is 1-2-0 with their lone win coming against Lasalle back on December 20th.
The Last Time The Met
Medfield and Burrillville actually played each other once before. On February 6th 2011 Medfield tripped to Levy Rink (the rink for all tournament games) and dropped the Broncos 3-1 in a very closely contested game.

Boys Hockey Downs Westwood

Weekend In Review

Last weekend was the first weekend of competition on the winter sports schedule.

Girls' basketball kicked off their title defense with a 68-56 win over Bishop Feehan at home on Thursday night. A night later, the boys' hoop team got off to a strong start and never looked back, as they topped two time defending Tri-Valley League champions Norton 53-40 at home. Drew Shea was a standout for the Warriors both on offense and defense.

Boys' hockey rolled past Dover-Sherborn 10-1 on Saturday night. The Warriors picked up goals from seven different people including a hat-trick from Pat Lawler, two goals from John MacLean and Jack Scannel's first as a Warrior. Goalie Steve Ledogar held a shut-out deep into the third period, but DS finally broke the ice with 7:24 left. It was Ledogar's first career start and victory.

The girls' hockey game scheduled for Saturday at 8:00 against Canton was postponed due to the snow. It will moved to a later date and time.

Thanksgiving Game Highlights

Winter Sports Preview

For those of us looking forward to winter sports, the long wait is finally over. This afternoon is the first day of tryouts for the cold weather folks, and so it's only appropriate to preview the coming attractions. The preview will be done in order based on last year’s finish. So for instance, girls' basketball won the State Title so they go first…

Girls' Basketball
Last March, the team won the program’s first-ever State Championship with an impressive tournament run. Before reaching the Boston Garden to play the Eastern Mass Final against Reading, they beat Sandwich (82-36), Bishop Feehan (71-48), Scituate (58-41), and Duxbury (47-43) in the South Sectional Final. They downed the Reading Rockets 59-51 in a thrilling overtime contest. The game at the Garden was Reading’s first loss in 48 games and the win sent the Warriors to the State Championship game at the DCU Center in Worcester. There, they faced the Central Regional Champion in Nashoba Valley Tech and handled them with ease, winning the State Title game, 54-36. 

Girls' basketball celebrates their overtime win over
Reading at the Boston Garden.
(Photo by Theresa Knapp, Medfield Patch)

Medfield also won the TVL for a fifth straight year with an in-league record of 14-0-0.  Also, head coach Mark Nickerson was named Division II coach of the year.

FINAL 2013 RECORD: 25-1-0

This Winter, the team will play the usual 14 Tri-Valley League games in addition to two tournaments (one at Christmastime at Tufts University and one at Babson College at the end of the year) and two non-conference games against Bishop Feehan.

Key Losses: Jen Narlee (1^st Team TVL All-Star) 
Key Returning: Lauren Petit (2013 TVL MVP, Boston Globe All-Scholastic, Boston Herald All-Scholastic), Kristin Fechtelkotter (1^st team TVL All-Star), Payton Ouimette (1^st team TVL All-Star)  

Boys' Hockey 

The team celebrates after a goal against
 Medway.
(Photo by Shannon Haggerty)

It was a tough ending to an overall outstanding year for the hockey team. The squad went 12-1-0 in league play en route to their second TVL championship in as many years and also won the Canalman Cup, a Christmas tournament in Bourne. In the playoffs, Medfield faced Pembroke in the opening round. Eight minutes in, Pembroke had a 3-0 lead on three quick goals. Eventually, Medfield clawed back in it and with about six minutes left, tied it 3-3 to send it into overtime. After dominating the overtime session that decided nothing, Medfield lost in the shootout 2-0 and the season ended long before it should have. 

Out of all the winter sports, boys' hockey had far and away the most All Stars with 11 (there are 24 kids on the team). The next closest was boys' indoor track with five.

FINAL 2013 RECORD: 18-1-1-1

This year, hockey will move up to Division II for the first time in program history. The new division brings a welcome challenge and also opportunity to play some new teams. In nine non-conference games, Medfield will be well traveled as they will play in two in-season tournaments as well as some other not-so-close games. The Christmas tournament this year is south of the border in Burrillville, Rhode Island. The other tournament comes at the end of the schedule and that is in Raynham. 

Key Losses: Ben Cox (1^st team TVL All-Star), Tyler Etzkorn (1^st team TVL All-Star), Tim Haggerty (2^nd team TVL All-Star), John Monahan (TVL Goalie of the Year). 
Key Returning: Matt Crowell (1^st team TVL All-Star), Robert Treiber (1^st team TVL All-Star), Matt Dresens (1^st team TVL All-Star), Pat Lawler (1^st team TVL All-Star), Matt Treiber (2^nd team TVL All-Star), Justin Hirshfield (TVL Honorable Mention), Will Murphy (TVL Honorable Mention) 

Boys' Basketball
Last season, the Big Blue lost a series of close games that in the end, cost them the TVL title. They finished 11-7-0 in league play. In the State Tournament, the 10th seeded Warriors drew 7th seeded Tech Boston/Dorchester. Tech played a style of ball that the Warriors were not accustomed to and ousted Medfield in the first round of the South Regional by a score of 69-52.

FINAL 2013 Record: 13-8-0

Key Losses: John Zimmerman (2nd Team TVL All Star), Remy Fragola (TVL Honorable Mention), Matt Pembroke

Key Returning: Drew Shea (2nd Team TVL All Star), Brian Hunter.  

Girls' Hockey 

Last winter, the girls' hockey team scrambled toward the end of the season  to just sneak into the playoffs, drawing a first round match-up with Walpole. Medfield was actually the higher seed at 16 and Walpole was 17. Medfield got on the board in the first period, but a late third period goal for the Rebels sent the game to overtime, where nothing was decided.  The game, much like the boys' loss ended in a shootout with Walpole scoring the lone goal and ousting the Warriors 2-1. Walpole lost in the next round to the number one seed and eventual State Champions, Duxbury.

FINAL 2013 RECORD: 10-8-3

Girls' hockey is one of the only winter sport that does not compete in the Tri-Valley League. Instead, they are in the South Eastern Mass Girls Hockey League (SEMGHL). In league play, the will face North Quincy, Dover-Sherborn, Franklin, Mansfield, Westwood and Medway/Ashland.  

Key losses: Mimi Borkan (SEMGHL All Star, All Mass Team), Nicole Reardon (SEMGHL)

Indoor Track 

The boys finished last year with a strong 7-1 record and had five TVL All Stars. Greg Lyons, Gordon White, Ian Robertson, Sean Robertson, and Austin Scola all finished with TVL honors. Lyons and White made first team, while the other three were second teamers. Lyons is the only non-returning member.

For the girls, they finished the season 6-2. Both Taylor Worthy and Kristina Gustafson were named first team All Stars. Worthy, who graduated last year, was also the league MVP. Lauren Rimmel and Kate Letai were both named to the second team all TVL.

Both the boys' and girls' schedules are identical. They will face all 9 other TVL schools starting with Norton on the 11th. 

Swimming

The boys' team finished 4-5 with a 3-2 record in the TVL. Alec and Connor Haley along with Alex Carpion and Andrew Martin were all TVL All Stars. For the girls, Jenn Alban, Natascha Borgstein, Meridith Bertoni and Haley Dolan were TVL All Stars. The squad finished with a 3-5 overall record and a 3-2 TVL record.

Gymnastics

They finished 5-3 on the year and 9th in the All State Meet. This year, they will have 9 meets, starting with a road trip to Barnstable on the 21st. 

Girls Soccer Falls In Round Two

Last night 9th seeded Medfield dropped a 4-2 decision at Scituate, the South Regional's number one overall seed.

Kristina Gustafson got the Warriors on the board in the first half, with Kristina Rimmel doubling the lead before the half concluded.

The Warriors seemed to really control the play in the opening half and shut-down the Scituate attack.

That all changed in the second frame. Scituate came out flying and notched a goal in the opening minutes of the season half. The Sailors went on to score the game's last three goals to double up the Warriors by a final of 4-2.

Scituate will play Sandwich tomorrow night in the South Sectional Semis.

Not Even Close

Volleyball Rolls Past Groton-Dunstable 

From the start it wasn't even close. The third-seeded girls volleyball squad blanked sixth-seeded Groton-Dunstable 3-0 at home yesterday night.

The Warriors seemed to get better as the match went on. They won the first game 25-11 and never looked back, winning the next two games 25-7 and 25-4.

Medfield will face the winner of the Westboro vs. Tantasqua match-up that will take place tonight at 7:00. Westboro is the second overall seed in the Central Regional with a 16-2-0 regular season record. So far in tournament play, they have beaten 15th-seeded Milton three games to none.

Tantasqua, on the other hand, is the 7th seeded in the Central with a 13-5-0 regular season record. They blanked St. Peter Marian 3-0 in round one.

It is unknown where the game will be. If they play Westboro the game will be away and Tantasqua will be a home game. Date TBA.

And Then There Were Two

Last week the team portion of the state playoffs got underway. Of course, golf had already wrapped up play and only Dan Neidermire qualified for the tournament. He finished 3rd after shooting 75.

The first team to enter tournament play was field hockey. They dropped a 2-1 decision to Dighton-Rehoboth at home last Wednesday night in overtime. DR went on to lose to Oliver Ames 5-0 in the second round.

Football had their playoff game at Oliver Ames on Friday night. After trading scores in the opening half, the Tigers pulled away and improved 7-0-0 on the year, topping Medfield 49-14. Oliver Ames will take on Attleboro next week, and Medfield will host Walpole in a consolation game on Friday.

Girls’ soccer doubled up 8th seeded Foxboro 4-2 yesterday afternoon. They will travel to Scituate tomorrow night, game time, 5:00 pm. Scituate is 15-1-2 and is the number one overall seed in the South Regional (DII).

Volleyball cruised past Milford three games to one. Tonight, they will take on Groton-Dunstable at home. Groton is the 6th seed in the Division II Central Region, Medfield is the three seed.

Boys Cross Country Divisional are Saturday.

For those interested, winter sports start on December 2nd.

Field Hockey Playoff Preview: Game 1

Tonight at 6:00, the field hockey team will kick off the team portion of the playoffs against Dighton-Rehoboth at “the turf.” Of course, there have already been individuals in tournament play this fall, but field hockey is the first of four fall sports at MHS to go as a team. Football, girls soccer, and volleyball all start tournament play a little later.

Field hockey comes into this game with a 12-4-2 record, good for the 12^th seed in the South Regional. Dighton-Rehoboth is 7-7-2, the 21^st seed in the South. DR is the second lowest seed in the region to only Plymouth South at 22.

The first round is technically not called “round one,” but rather “the play-in round.” The top nine seeds are awarded a bye and there are six play-in games to get the 22-team field down to a more traditional 16-team bracket.

How They Compare

Just going off of records, Medfield should have the upper hand, but of course there is a lot more to it than just wins and losses. The two teams have no common opponents, which makes comparing the two rather difficult. DR did play two fewer games than Medfield and only faced two teams that qualified in the South.  They lost to 16^th seeded Case 3-0 and 1-0. The other team they played in the South Bracket is 4^th seeded Somerset-Berkley, losing 3-1 and 1-0.

Medfield, on the other hand, has only played one team in the South: 15^th seeded Westwood. The Warriors split with Westwood, winning the first meeting 3-2 and dropping the second contest 4-2.

It’s also difficult to compare these teams because there are no stats on either of the two squads. Anyway, a quick look at the win/loss column will give us the goal differentials for both schools. Medfield had found the back of the net 32 times this fall and only allowed 15 goals in 18 games. DR has notched 29 goals and allowed 18 in 16 games played.

Looking Back

Last year, Medfield was bounced in opening round 1-0 at Dover-Sherborn. 

Westwood Gets Even On the Links

Today Golf fell 236-245 to Westwood at Norfolk Golf Club, home of the Wolverines. This was the second meeting of the year between the two squads, with Medfield winning the first 224-236.

The top group for Medfield was Brett Thomas and Dan Neidermire, as it has been all year. Neidermire finished with a 3 over 38 and Thomass posted 41 (6 over).

Here are some pictures of the action from earlier this afternoon: (Photos by Matt Dresens and Robert Treiber)

Back On Track

Tourny Watch

Yes, we are only a month into school and halfway though the fall sports schedule, but the postseason tournament picture is already starting to take shape. To qualify for the playoffs in every sport (exuding football) teams must amass 20 ptoints. Two points are awarded for a win, one for a tie and none for a loss. Most teams generally play 20 games, so teams with a .500 record make it.

Current Records:

Golf, 9-1-0 (.900)
Girls Soccer, 7-1-1 (.833)
Boys Cross Country, 4-1-0 (.800)**
Vollyball, 7-2-0 (.777)
Field Hockey, 6-2-2 (.700)
Football, 2-1-0 (.667)*
Girls Cross Country, 2-3-0 (.400)**
Boys Soccer, 1-5-3 (.277)

Golf needs one more win to officially clinch a spot, but can take a huge step in winning the TVL with a win over Hopkinton today. Look for Girls Soccer, Volleyball, and Field Hockey to qualify in the next week or so. Of course once the team make the playoffs, it's all about gaining a higher seed in the bracket.

** Both Cross-Country squads do not actually go to states as a team, but rather as individuals representing the team.

* Football is a little different and it just changed this year, and the qualification is totally based off a power rating system. Full explanation directly from the MIAA website, below:

Steer West

Previewing The Westwood Game

Tonight, the undefeated football team will face off against Westwood at home. Medfield has not started the season 2-0 since 2005, and that year they started 6-0 and didn't give up a single point until game four. Before 2005 you would have to go back to 2002 to find the only other 2-0 start of the past decade.

Tonight is a critical early season match-up for the Warriors, as it is their first TVL Large game of the year. Westwood has also started the year on a strong note. The Wolverines come in to this game with a 1-1 record and are currently the 20th ranked team on ESPN High School Boston's poll. Westwood upset traditional power-house  Needham 36-26 in their first game of the year and last week lost a very close game with 19th ranked King Philip 7-0.

Slowing down Westwood will be a huge factor for the Warriors tonight. "Its sticking to the game plan. We have to beat them with our speed and play fundamentally sound football," said starting quarterback Stephen Ledogar.

The QB also added that not giving up any big plays, along with limiting their high end players will go a long way for the team.

The game starts at 7:00 at home and for students, there will be a $1 tail-gate that starts at 5:30.

The Last Time They Met...
Saturday October 6th, 2012. Westwood 14, Medfield 7

Blackhawk Down

Friday Roundup

Football improved to 2-0 on the year with a 38-0 shelling of Bellingham at home... Boys Soccer fell to Holliston 4-0 on the turf... Field Hockey blanked Hopkinton 3-0 at home and now are 5-1-1 on the year... Girls Soccer came away with a 1-0 win at Holliston... Volleyball cruised past Holliston three games to none and remained perfect this fall (6-0-0).

Warrior Gets The Wolverine

Dan Neidermire tees off on the 4th hole.
Photo by Matt Dresens

Golf picks up a huge win over Westwood

Going into yesterday's match with Westwood, Medfield was still looking for a statement win on the links. After coming up short against Hopkinton last week, the Warriors bounced back with a solid win over Dover-Sherborn.

Yesterday, Medfield put it all together and topped Westwood 224-236 at Ponkapog. The top pair of Brett Thomas and Dan Neidermire won their group by eight strokes. Neidermire finished even (35), while Thomas posted a two over 37, despite triple bogeying the 6th hole. Thomas birdied holes 3, 5, and 9 and Neidermire bogeyed one hole (8) and birded one hole (9).

The shot of the day was found at the 5th green. Junior Joey Ingoldsby, playing in his first match of the year, drilled a 15 foot putt to save par. He hit an equally impressive putt on the previous hole, according to playing partner Pat Lawler. Ingoldsby shot a four over 39.  

Next up for Medfield is Bellingham on Monday at Bungay Brook.

Photos From Yesterday's Golf Match

Mustangs Run Circles Around Boys Soccer

From the outset of yesterday's game, a rematch of last fall's Eastern Mass Championship game, Medway controlled the play. Passes were crisp and on target and when they had scoring opportunities, they finished.

Medway got on the board with a goal just seven minutes into the game. A shot on the turf found its way into the far side of the cage, past Medfield goalie sophomore Matt Johnson. Minutes later, the Mustangs added their second tally. This came off what looked to be a deflection. Johnson had no chance.

Medway's third goal of the half was the result of a nice passing play that started near midfield. Medway picked their way though the Medfield defense before getting a shot off that didn't miss.  

Before the end of the half, Medway made it 4-0 and if there was any doubt before, that goal sealed the deal.

The Mustangs scored their prettiest goal of the contest just minutes into the second half. A shot about 15 yards out picked the top right corner. It was a perfectly placed ball and Johnson again had no chance.

To be honest, it could have been 8/9-0. Despite the score, Johnson did make some big saves. Medfield failed to record a shot on cage until deep into the second half.

Next up for the Warriors is a tough Holliston team on Friday night.

Yesterday's Round Up

Golf bounced back from a tough loss on Wednesday to upended Dover-Sherborn 231-246... Football opened their season with a 26-6 win at Deadham... DS scored two goals in the last ten minutes to take out Boys Soccer 2-1... Field Hockey cruised past Bellingham 6-0 on the road... Girls Soccer fell 1-0 at home to Dover-Sherborn... Girls Volleyball dropped Bishop Feehan three games to one at Feehan... Boys Cross Country took care of Dover-Sherborn 26-29 at the Hospital Hill course.

Updated Records:
Girls Volleyball... 4-0 (.1000)
Boys Cross Country... 2-0 (.1000)
Football... 1-0 (.1000)
Field Hockey... 3-1-0 (.750)
Golf...  2-1 (.667)
Girls Soccer...  1-1-1 (.500)
Girls Cross Country... 1-1 (.500)
Boys Soccer... 0-1-2 (.333)

Golf Falls To Hop-Town

In an early season showdown on the golf schedule, the Warriors faced Hopkinton, one of the Tri Valley League's top programs. Medfield fell to the Hillers 250-228 at Hopkinton Country Club, this afternoon.

Not one Medfield golfer won their respective match, as Hopkinton had six players shoot in the 30's (9 holes). Captain Brett Thomas was the only Warrior under the 40 plateau, posting a 36. His competitor shot 33.

Thomas said, "the way they played today, they could beat any team in the league. It was a blowout. We played awful."

The main issue on the links today, put simply by Brett was "we didn't have enough low scores, easy as that. It's a team game and right now we just don't have the depth"

Depth will come as the season progresses and next up for the 1-1-0 golf squad is Dover-Sherborn, tomorrow. DS was barely edged by Hopkinton, as just three strokes separated the two teams.

Yesterday's Round-up

Girls Volleyball went into Hopkinton and picked up a big early season win over the Hillers, 3 games to 1...  Boys Soccer battled back from and 0-2 hole against Hopkinton to tie the Hiller 2-2, their second draw of the season... Girls Soccer blanked the Hillers 3-0... Field Hockey picked up their second win of the year, a 1-0 victory at Holliston.

Day One Recap

Yesterday, was the first day of games for Medfield sports.

Golf cruised by Millis 259-301 at their home course, Ponkapoag... Field Hockey one-upped Westwood 3-2 at home... Boys Soccer battled to a 0-0 tie with Norton, also at home... Girls Volleyball topped Norton three games to one to improve to 2-0-0 on the year... Both Girls and Boys Cross Country picked up wins over Ashland at Hospital Hill... Girls Soccer played to a 1-1 draw at Norton.

In Other News
Yesterday it was announced that Medfiled won the Dalton Award for the 2013 season. The award is given the school with the best overall combined varsity record. This is the third time in five years the Warriors have taken home the Dalton.