ACTON — All season, Acton-Boxboro has been manufacturing ways to find motivation, and newfound ways to prove that the Revolution truly belong in the conversation for an elusive Div. 1 boys lacrosse championship.
On Friday night, the latest opportunity to make a statement arrived on their doorstep in the form of a bitter rival, and they succeeded in very impressive fashion. Seniors Tyler Clayton (four goals, two assists) and Cam Matthews (four goals, assist) shouldered things offensively, as third-seeded Acton-Boxboro punched its ticket to the Final Four with a convincing 15-7 rout of No. 6 Lincoln-Sudbury.
“We wanted to get out to a good start,” Clayton said. “(Lincoln-Sudbury) is such a great team, and we knew that if we could possess the ball, we knew we could do our thing, do anything we wanted to. We just wanted to get right to the ball, (and make plays).”
This game was tabbed as a showdown between two of the state’s top teams, and for obvious reason. Both programs were flooded with talent, had similar play styles and great coaching to boot, so most felt this matchup could be considered a coin flip.
Yet, when this heavyweight bout kicked off, the Revolution (17-4) threw the first series of jabs, and the Warriors found themselves struggling to gain their collective footing. Matthews would open things with a goal nine seconds into play, before Ryan Cho and Christian Maranian added tallies during the next handful of minutes. With 8:09 left in the opening frame, Acton-Boxboro had already constructed a 3-0 lead.
“We knew we could score in clips if we could get the ball,” said Acton-Boxboro coach Pat Ammendolia. “We knew we’d have the opportunity to score a lot, so yeah, that was on the scouting report.”
The Revolution would build a first-half cushion as great as 6-1 off a goal by Joey Cronin with 9:44 left in the second quarter, before Lincoln-Sudbury (13-6) began to stage. Ryan Berkel and Van Tanguay each tallied a goal in the second quarter, as the Warriors cut their deficit to 7-3. Lincoln-Sudbury would draw within 7-4 with 8:10 remaining in the third off a goal from Luke Ohler. But then, the levee finally collapsed for the Warriors as Acton-Boxboro closed the game on a 7-2 scoring run, with Clayton scoring three of his four goals in the second half.
In addition to Clayton and Matthews, the Revolution received a great spark from Cho (goal, three assists). Will Steinkrauss recorded 13 saves in the cage for Acton-Boxboro, while Mike Calvo won 14 faceoffs.
Berkel finished with a hat trick to carry Lincoln-Sudbury offensively, while Tanguay also added a pair of assists in his effort.
Acton-Boxboro will now take on the winner of Saturday’s Round of 8 tilt between second-seeded BC High and No. 7 Xaverian in the Final Four.
“(Lincoln-Sudbury) got the best of us here in 2021,” said Matthews. “We remember things. We remember it all. To come out here, prove a point and shock the state – that’s all it takes.”