The Bedford High School girls’ lacrosse team charges onto Dover Saturday for a 12:30 p.m. battle against top-seeded Dover-Sherborn Regional High School for the MIAA Division 2 East sectional championship.
Bedford earned the trip to the finals by winning three post-season games, the latest a 17-10 thrashing of Holliston under the Sabourin Field lights Wednesday.
There’s no chance the team will be satisfied just reaching the state Division 2 Elite Eight, said Coach Nikki Lespasio. “We’re playing for our seniors who didn’t get to have their season last year and making the school and town proud by making history. Everything is taken one day at a time.”
The last time any BHS girls’ team qualified for sectional finals was in 2018 when the girls’ basketball team faced Bishop Fenwick in Division 3 North. The only other precedent was 1990 when the softball team won Division 3 North en route to a state championship. (Swim and tennis teams have also advanced to championships, but those outcomes are computed partially or totally on an individual basis.)
Thursday night’s match with Holliston was the first time Bedford High has been the home team for an MIAA semifinals contest in any sport since in a normal year that level of competition takes place on a neutral field. Covid-19 restrictions precluded MIAA post-season play until this season.
The atmosphere was celebratory throughout, as BHS took an early lead and sustained it all the way.
The explosive one-two punch of rising seniors Allie Zorn (six goals) and Sophie Morrissey (five) led the scoring, with rising junior Gaby Zovko adding three. Rising senior Astrid Yerardi added two goals and Sharon Young, also a rising senior also found the back of the net.
Charlotte Dreyfus, the rising sophomore goalie, turned in another solid game, consistently registering outstanding clears and saves.
Lespasio also applauded the performances that don’t appear in the scoring summary. “Defensemen Anna Luongo, Katherine Vaughn, and Julia Dearing all caused turnovers,” she said. “Midfielders Abby Morrissey, Sophie Morrissey, Shannon Young, and Michaela O’Brien played a hard 60 minutes and did great with maintaining possession.”
Zorn, Zovko, and Sophie Morrissey dominated the draw control.
Lespasio, who graduated from BHS in 2010 and played lacrosse in high school and at Roger Williams University, praised the Buccaneers for being “dedicated as individuals and as a whole, both very important.”
“I thought it was going to be twice as difficult to keep them focused regarding being in the state tournament this year because it’s later than typical and into their summer vacation,” she noted. vs. the end of the school year.
It’s late, all right, and also historic.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Game images below, courtesy of Kim Morrill Morrissey
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Congrats to a great group of teammates!!