COHASSET — As the weeks have progressed, there have been a handful of lacrosse players statewide that have started to make headlines on a consistent basis.
One of those athletes has been Duxbury’s Colin Hulett, and he was up to his usual tricks again Tuesday. The junior attackman buried four goals, including the eventual game-winner midway through the third quarter, as the Dragons pulled away in the second half for a crucial 6-3 victory over nonleague foe Cohasset.
“(Cohasset) came out swinging with a lot of intensity,” said Duxbury lacrosse coach Chris Sweet. “We just had to match the intensity. The game was won on the ground balls, the loose balls, fifty-fifties.”
This bout was labeled a matchup between one of the top teams in the Div. 2 ranks and the program to beat in the Div. 4 field. Cohasset (11-2) got off to a flying start, as senior midfielder Charlie Donovan sniped a long range shot to provide the Skippers a 1-0 lead just 1:43 into play.
Duxbury (11-3) answered in rapid fashion, however, as Liam Goodwin tallied the equalizer 1:02 later to even things at 1-all. This trend would continue throughout the early stages. Braeden and Colin Hulett buried consecutive goals in a 23-second span to begin the second quarter, as the Dragons took a 3-2 lead at the half.
Cohasset knotted things back up at 3-3 with 10:06 left in the third quarter off a snipe by senior captain Luke Willmott, but the Skippers ran out of momentum shortly thereafter.
Later on, with 5:35 to play in the frame, Hulett corralled a pass from Goodwin as he wrapped his way around the back of the Cohasset net. The junior spun on a dime, then fired a bullet into the netting as Duxbury seized a 4-3 lead, one it would never relinquish.
Then, after scoring his third to complete the hat trick with 11:24 left in regulation, Hulett found himself standing alone in front of the Skippers’ cage once again as play began to break down moments later. Teammate Rob Heppenstall attempted a shot on net, but the ball was dislodged. Luckily, Hulett just happened to be standing in precisely the right spot to collect.
“I don’t know if it got blocked or if it just came off the end of his stick,” laughed Hulett. “But it landed right at my feet. So, I just buried it.”
The junior proceeded to register his fourth and final goal for Duxbury with 9:48 remaining, effectively sealing the victory.
In addition to the efforts of Hulett, the Dragons also received an outstanding performance in net from Max Mazanec (15 saves).
Donovan finished with a pair of goals to pace Cohasset.
“Somebody asked me how I thought the game was going to go before (things started),” said Sweet. “I said I had no idea. It was one of those games. I knew they had a good defense. They had a good goalie. They had size, they had athleticism. It was just how we matched up, and I had no idea it would be that low-scoring of a game. We’re just lucky it went in our favor.”
