No doubt about it: The Newburyport boys lacrosse team is ready for the playoffs.
And whoever draws the Clippers in the opening round of the Division 3 state tournament will get a red-hot team winners of 13 straight. On Monday morning, the Clippers both celebrated Memorial Day and finished their regular season by earning another statement victory this season over one of the best teams in Division 4.
Welcoming in a Norwell squad that shares the same nickname — and which came in ranked No. 2 in its division — Newburyport finished strong in the fourth quarter to pull out the 10-7 win. The South Shore Clippers led 7-6 heading into the final quarter, but a stellar defensive effort led by Brian Lucy, Henry Walker, Kian Markos and goalie Ben Buchmayr held them scoreless during the frame, and lifted the North Shore Clippers to the victory.
“We ended an excellent regular season with a great team win at home today,” said Newburyport coach Josh Wedge. “Now we’re preparing for the playoffs.”
Despite the big win, Newburyport (17-1) seems pretty locked into the No. 6 seed in the upcoming Division 3 tournament. That will most likely be made official when the MIAA brackets get released on Wednesday, but despite that, the Clippers firmly believe that they can compete with anybody.
And, again, their one loss this year: By one goal to a Concord-Carlisle team currently ranked No. 6 in Division 1.
Trailing by a goal at the start of the fourth quarter on Monday, it was Davis Pons (3g, 1a) taking the ball away from the Norwell goalie who was trying to clear, and firing it into the back of the net to tie the game. Henry Waddell then scored what would be the game-winning goal, and Pons soon gave the Clippers a 9-7 cushion off a great feed from Colin Fuller (2g, 5a). A senior captain, Fuller would add the final tally for good measure, and the duo of Asher Kinsey (3g) and Carter Scott (1g, 1a) rounded out the team’s scoring on the day.