The Sports Watch for June 13 - 18

It's Sunday, and you know what that means. It's time for the Sports Watch, the fastest three minutes in Weston Sports coming your way right now:

First, Happy Father's Day everyone.

Well, they found the right combo of offense and defense, and the Weston High  boys lacrosse team claimed its first ever state championship, defeating Dover-Sherborn, 5-4, in the Division 3 East final at Harvard Stadium.

“We believed in ourselves,” Weston head coach Jim Wilcon said.“We believed we were good enough to be here and good enough to win the game. We weren’t going to be satisfied just to get here, even though it was our first time.”   

The Wildcats (20-2), who led throughout the contest, got most of their offensive output from junior standout Joey Pasquale, who led the Wildcats with four goals and an assist..

“I’m glad we don’t have to defend against him,” Wilcon said. “I don’t know how to stop him. He’s done a tremendous job with the ball, off the ball. He went over the 100-point mark today.”

The Raiders (19-3) were pushed back on their heels from the start.  Weston's Robert Crockett won the opening faceoff, relayed the ball to Pasquale, who passed to Kyle Nickerson. Nickerson beat goalie Jeff Williams, and Weston had a 1-0 lead just six seconds in.

Pasquale made it 2-0 when he scored unassisted at the 8:07 mark of the second quarter.

Roughly three minutes later, Raider Brandon Jaeger faked out his defender and delivered a point-blank shot on net, but it was denied by Weston star goalie Jared Fong.

On the same possession, D-S appeared to cut the lead in half as PJ Copponi found the back of the net, but it was waived off because of a crease violation.   

D-S finally got on the board at the 3:25 mark, when  with Ben Newbert scored on a pass from Jared Spence.

But Pasquale made sure the Wildcats went into the break with a two-strike advantage, as he bolted around the net and made a 180-degree turn to score a magnificent goal. 

The two teams traded goals in the third quarter before Fong made solid back-to-back saves. The first came when Chad Huemme rifled a low shot on net and Fong quickly dropped to his knees to make the stop.

“We’re pretty proud of Jared,” Wilcon said. “He’s a great goalie. He seems to play bigger in big games. And we’re glad he is around for another year.”

Minutes into the fourth quarter, Pasquale struck for his fourth goal from Matthew Knight to give the Wildcats a 5-3 lead. That proved to be the difference as the Raiders tallied with 10 seconds left on a strike from Huemme.

To the courts we go, and it's another banner year for the Weston boys tennis team. The Wildcats won their second consecutive state title with a 5-0 win over Sutton in the Division 3 Final, finishing the campaign with a 22-0 record.

Will Spector swept in first singles, 6-0, 6-0, while Rutendo Matingo won, 6-2, 6-2, in the second slot. Spector showcased his quickness, while Matingo demonstrated strong net play with a solid backhand.

Jason Mazzella took his third singles match, 6-4, 6-2, while the first doubles team of Max Legocki and Matt Gorelik won, 6-2, 7-5, rallying in the second set, after trailing early.

Karl Epker and Trevor Sands sealed the sweep with a 6-2, 6-1 victory in second doubles.

Weston had advanced to the title round with a 4-1 win over Cape Cod Academy in the Division 3 North semifinals.  

The 'Cats came out in full force in singles play yesterday, as seniors Will Spector and Jason Mazzella won in the No. 1 and No. 3 slots, respectively, while sophomore exchange student and Dual County League All-Star Rutendo Matingo took his match at No. 2.

All three Weston standouts swept their matches. Spector and Matingo both won, 6-1, 6-2, while Mazzella won, 6-0, 6-0.

Senior Matt Gorelick and junior Max Legocki teamed up to win, 6-3, 6-3, in No. 1 doubles play.

"We had a lot of close matches this season," said Weston head coach George Conlin, who took the helm last year and has guided the 'Cats to both championships. "We knew we had a strong team, and I also put in some of the players who will be instrumental next year, so they got some experience. We're losing five seniors this year, so I used the opportunity to get some of the guys in who will be playing next year."

Peter Shanley contributed to this report.