WORCESTER — The Dracut High boys lacrosse team was on the heels of staging a pair of impressive comebacks on its way to Saturday’s Division 3 state championship.
The top-seeded Middies rallied from an early deficit in the quarterfinals against Wakefield and stunned Medfield in the Final Four with a six-goal salvo in the second half to overcome a 6-3 hole.
But the Middies couldn’t formulate one final resurgence at Worcester State’s Coughlin Field in a 7-4 loss to No. 3 Scituate.
The Sailors — who downed Dracut in last season’s Elite 8 — have now won consecutive state titles. The Middies end their campaign with a 21-2 record.
Click here for a photo gallery from this game.
The deficit in question on Saturday was a 3-0 hole Dracut found itself in early in the first quarter. The Middies would cut the lead to 3-2 in the second but wouldn’t get any closer as Scituate only ballooned its lead from there.
“You can’t spot a good team like Scituate three goals early and expect to be able to come back,” said Dracut head coach Paul Ganley. “They’re just too good.”
James O’Brien scored twice for Dracut, as Lucas Ogden and Collin Hudson rounded out the scoring. As he has been all postseason, Cole Tierney-Honan kept Dracut afloat between the pipes. The senior finished the game with five saves.
Dracut edged No. 33 Upper Cape (19-5), No. 17 North Reading (13-4), No. 8 Wakefield (7-4) and No. 4 Medfield (11-7) ahead of the program’s first-ever appearance in the state final on Saturday.
Dracut has always been a lacrosse fixture in the Merrimack Valley Conference but benefited from a talented senior class that paid its dues to make history this spring. Before Dracut’s quarterfinal loss a year ago, the Middies advanced to the round of 16 in 2024 and bowed out in the Elite 8 in 2023.
After Scituate raced out to a 3-0 lead in the opening quarter, Dracut found its footing with a pair of unanswered goals. Jason Fazio found Ogden for a goal out front after Charlie Wilkie cleared the ball upfield in the waning minutes of the frame. Then, O’Brien buried a pass from Owen French to the lower left corner of the mesh at the 8:07 mark of the second.
“These guys don’t give up,” Ganley said. “They fight until the end. Lucky to be their coach, and they’re just such a good group of kids. I’m sad that it’s over.”
Click here for a photo gallery from this game.
Scituate found the back of the net with just one second left in the half to take a 4-2 lead, but Dracut answered first out of the break when French hit O’Brien for a tally.
However, a trio of consecutive Scituate goals was enough to pull away, despite a handful of saves from Tierney-Honan that provided Dracut with opportunities to close the gap.
“Cole is awesome,” Ganley said. “We’re going to miss him dearly next year. He’s just such a great player and a great person. It’s tough to see him graduate.”
Hudson cut into the run with 8:13 left, but neither team generated any meaningful chances the rest of the way.
Ganley credited his whole roster — especially his seniors — for the mark they made on the program this season. Along with Wilkie, French and Tierney-Honan, Dracut is also graduating Christopher Ravaris, Andrew Mullen, Hussein Sounalah, Bryan Moraes, Ryan McDonald and Scott Johnston.
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for those guys,” said the coach. “They love lacrosse, and they love this program. Just sad to see them go.”
