C-C Boys Outlast Hingham in Triple Overtime

Thanks in large part to junior Kevin Delehey, the Concord-Carlisle High School boys’ lacrosse team is headed back to Harvard University.

“One of my goals was to get back to Harvard,” said CCHS coach Tom Dalicandro. “I have a sheet of paper here that has all my goals for the season, and one of them is to get back to Harvard and we did it, so that’s awesome.”

No. 2 Concord-Carlisle and No. 3 Hingham High School had battled for four quarters of regulation to a 9-all tie to force overtime.

Almost 16 minutes of extra play had elapsed, with shots going wide, shots being saved and shots getting turned over, until there was 1 minute, 34 seconds remaining in the third overtime. Delehey had the ball, he ran up the field, and, finally, a C-C shot went in. He closed it out for the Patriots, scoring the game-winner in their 10-9 victory in the MIAA East Division 2 Semifinals.

“Kevin Delehey – when we played Hingham the first time, Kevin Delehey probably played two minutes in that game and today he’s a first line middie,” said Dalicandro. “It was unbelievable, you know? Shocking.

“In overtime … we said, ‘You got to shoot to win the game,’” Dalicandro continued. “Sometimes kids are afraid to shoot the ball, afraid they’ll make a mistake.

“I thought (Hingham) had a lot of great chances in overtime and we made good plays and (junior) Doug (Gouchoe) made good saves and the ball just bounced our way at the end.”

Now, Concord-Carlisle will face old nemesis Medfield High School, the No. 9 seed, at Harvard Stadium on Tuesday. C-C beat Medfield in the sectional semis two years ago, and the Warriors returned the favor in 2010.

Concord-Carlisle led throughout much of the game and held a 9-6 advantage in the middle of the fourth quarter after three unanswered goals, but Hingham never backed away, scoring three goals right after to tie it 9-all and get the overtime.

“It looked like it was anybody’s game. Every time we pulled ahead we thought we put (Hingham) away and they kept coming back, so, I give them credit,” Dalicandro said. “We had our hands full.”

Concord-Carlisle led 5-3 going into the half.

Junior Jackson Finigan made two shot attempts around the 10-minute marker in the second quarter; the first went above the net and the second Hingham senior goalkeeper Derek McInnis swept up. But Finigan got his goal at 7:09 as he wrapped around the net and put in a shot as he was falling to the turf. That put C-C up 2-1.

Then, at 6:34, junior Mike O’Brien added C-C’s third goal running up the middle for the score.    

“Jackson Finigan and Mike O’Brien were middies when the year started and those guys were awesome. They just played so hard and, what can I say?” Dalicandro said. “The whole group of kids; everybody, the No. 1 player down to 42. It’s a great group. We’re really happy.”

But just as C-C was putting in shots, Hingham came firing back with two of their own.

With 5:00 left in the second, junior Reed McLeod scored from senior captain Tim Driscoll’s assist. And at 4:15, Driscoll netted his own from in front of the crease to tie it 3-all.

Then C-C responded by putting two in the net. O’Brien scored at 2:23, with help from senior Matt Carroll in front of the net, and junior Chris Walker-Jacks made it a 5-3 game, scoring from the left wing with just 0:56 remaining before halftime.

In the third quarter, C-C finished with a one-goal advantage at 7-6, after goals from senior Brendan Gay and Carroll. But Hingham outscored the Patriots in the quarter, sending in three – two from junior captain Kevin Blair and one from junior Karl Weller with Blair assisting.

C-C then gained momentum in the start of the fourth, netting two goals to make it 9-6 in their favor. Carroll scored at 11:59, and, at 9:25, Finigan threw in a shot from the ground in a tangled crew of Hingham players.

But, just as before, Hingham rattled back, scoring three for the 9-all tie.

Freshman Caleb Brodie scored from the left wing, sophomore David Freitas netted his first with Weller assisting and Blair ran from behind the net and tossed in a goal from the left side.

Hingham was earning draws, then C-C was stealing, but McInnis was saving shots as the clock ticked below 1 minute remaining in regulation. With 9 seconds left, C-C ran up the field and shot, but the ball went wide and it was into first overtime.

“Hingham put up nine, that’s a good team. We don’t give up nine goals usually, but Hingham was right there,” Dalicandro said. “Anything happens in playoffs, so we’re not going to hold a team like Hingham to seven goals or six goals. We needed to score 10, I guess, and that’s what we did.

“Guys know they can do it now.”