BRIDGEWATER — Ever since a few longtime officials came up with the idea to create the showcase about 13 years ago, the Coaches Cup has consistently delivered some of the best lacrosse action in the Commonwealth, if not New England.
On Thursday, the tournament resumed, and it now appears a few familiar schools will vie for the championship this upcoming weekend following its events.
Senior captain Ryan Berkel finished with a hat trick to go with three assists, while classmate Van Tanguay added a trio of goals, as Lincoln-Sudbury clinched its second straight trip to the Coaches Cup title game with a convincing 12-6 victory over Wellesley at Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School.
Wellesley (4-1) entered the semifinals with a perfect record, looking to make a statement against a perennial heavyweight. For much of the first half, it appeared as though Lincoln-Sudbury (5-1) was going to be in a dogfight with the upstart Bay State Conference squad.
Then, as they have so often done in the past, the Warriors found their stride. After the Raiders cut it to a 4-3 game with 7:30 to play in the second quarter off a goal by Trey Soto, Tanguay registered the highlight of the day. The senior collected a loose ball, then fired a bullet into the twine from about 15 yards out with 2:22 left in the half. Nolan Martindale added a goal with 57 seconds to play in the stanza, and Lincoln-Sudbury was off and running with a 6-3 lead.
“They tell us in practice just to find the gaps,” Tanguay said afterward. “See the holes in the defense. My teammates fed me the ball when I was in the gaps, and I just let it rip. Luckily, (the shots) ended up in the back of the net.”
In addition to the performances of Berkel and Tanguay, Martindale finished with two goals for the Warriors, as did Ryan Winters.
This will mark the third trip to a Coaches Cup title game for Lincoln-Sudbury since 2019. Warriors coach Brian Vona hopes his group can continue their recent run of success.
“We’re close with all these guys,” said Vona. “That’s why we called it the Coaches Cup, because we were never able to play each other during the season. We all wanted to be around each other’s programs, and be together. So, (this helps).”
Lincoln-Sudbury will take on Hingham for the Coaches Cup title again this weekend. Joe Hennessey, Connor Lasch and Charlie Packard each netted a pair of goals Thursday as the Harbormen (5-1) clinched their latest trip to the championship with a 10-5 win over Concord-Carlisle.
In a similar fashion to the matinee game, this tilt started off nip and tuck, before Hingham flexed its muscles as play wore on. Lasch netted his first goal with 6:41 left in the opening stanza, as the Harbormen took a 3-2 advantage into the second.
Then the opportunities dried up in a hurry for Concord-Carlisle (4-2). The Patriots were held to just one goal over the next two quarters. Hingham built a lead as great as 10-3 following Robert Dixon’s first career varsity tally with 5:18 left in regulation.
“We’re a really deep team this year,” Hennessey said. “We have a bunch of young middies who were learning the offense. I think right now, it’s just starting to click across the board.”
On top of his two goals, Hennessey dished out a pair of assists for the Harbormen.
Max Kosicki single handedly powered Concord-Carlisle offensively with four goals.
After falling just short to Lincoln-Sudbury in a wild 8-7 finish in last year’s final, Hingham will now have a unique opportunity for revenge. With these longtime friends however, the camaraderie is always going to exist.
“We were playing a great program with Tommy Dalicandro and his boys,” said Hingham coach John Todd. “I can’t say enough about that. The whole week in general, with all these coaches. The competitiveness and the spirit of this tournament is awesome. But we’re getting back together with coach Vona and his boys. So, that’s kind of a dream matchup, and that gives us an opportunity to play them this year … we’re looking forward to that.”