Reading ends Notre Dame (Hingham)'s Division 2 girls' lacrosse dynasty with stunning semifinal upset
Reading (20-3) held a 7-3 halftime advantage and after senior Molly Trahan scored with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter for a five-goal cushion, the lead seemed insurmountable.
Then the reigning champs began the comeback.
Goals by Ani Woodard, Adelaide Gannon, and Caroline Haggerty, who netted two, made it 8-7 with 8:59 to play.
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Both teams called timeouts in the next five minutes with Notre Dame coach Meredith Frank McGinnis imploring her team — which was without North Carolina-bound All-American midfielder Emma Connerty, who suffered a knee injury earlier this season — to play with confidence, but the score remained the same. Each time Notre Dame (19-4) challenged, it was met by a wall of red defenders as the Rockets choked off the Cougars' offense.
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Much like the field hockey team that calls Victory Field home, Reading forced turnovers and won nearly every 50-50 ball.
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'The defense played lights out. Addy [Mathews] played lights out in net and we did a great job shutting down their offense so they really couldn't generate a whole lot,' said Reading coach Rachel Moore. 'Every goal that they got they had to work their tails off to get.'
Trahan finished with three goals, while Abby Shanahan, Quinn Donahue, Megan Shanahan (2 goals), and Lily Rodgers contributed.
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The Rockets lost in the state semis in 2023 and in the state quarters last spring. But Friday they'll play for a state title.
Walpole 14, Westwood 6 —
In need of its best performance of the season, the Timberwolves didn't disappoint.
Senior Caitlyn Naughton scored four goals and took part in every draw control for second-seeded Walpole, helping the unit finish 11 for 18 in a wire-to-wire victory over No. 3 Westwood to return to the D2 state final.
Walpole (24-1) turned up the heat in the third quarter, stretching a 4-3 lead into an 11-5 advantage.
'It's the best performance we've had all year,' Walpole coach Mike Tosone said. 'Our ride is pretty relentless. If you're asking me what I think happened, I think that might be it.'
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Emily Hagan and Sophia Fruci netted three goals apiece for the Timberwolves; Fruci, who added two assists, led the team with 5 points.
The Wolverines (21-4) suffered their worst setback of the season after losing their first three games by a combined five goals.
'We worked very well together,' Naughton said. 'Our defense has never looked this good, it really came out on top today.'
Walpole will be vying for its first state title in its fifth appearance, having lost in the final in 2016, 2017, 2018, and last season vs. Notre Dame (Hingham). Rather than a rematch with the Cougars, however, the Timberwolves will be facing Reading after the Rockets toppled NDA in the other semifinal.
'We're very motivated, our team has a lot of motivation from last year,' Naughton said. 'Coach has never won a state championship. We're really fired up.'
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Globe correspondent Jake Levin reported from Weymouth.
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