Derryfield boys lacrosse rides solid defensive effort to win over Westwood

WESTWOOD, Mass. – In three games this season, the Derryfield School boys lacrosse team has had to hang on to a lead and come out victorious.

The Cougars have their defense to thank for that, as was the case again on Monday.

Derryfield traveled into Massachusetts for a regular-season game the first time, took a three-goal lead over Westwood in the third quarter, and after the Wolverines scored twice in the final minute, the Cougars came up with one last defensive stand to hold on for a 6-5 win.

It’s the 56th win in a row for Derryfield (3-0, No. 4 in the NHHSS Coaches Poll), the longest active streak in the nation and good for 10th all-time, five behind the ninth-best streak.

“Early season, the defense has been the name of the game,” Derryfield coach Chris Hettler said. “We gave up three goals in three quarters and two in the final (minute). That’s a tremendous defensive effort.”

Jon MacLean and Matt Weimers each had two goals to lead the Cougars’ offense, while John Anderson and Gunnar Senatore also had a goal apiece, but it was the defense of seniors Max Horton and Alex Neville, junior Jacob Scholten and sophomore Will Hadley that lifted Derryfield to the win.

The Cougars also got a boost from the return of senior goalie Avry Truex, who made nine saves, and helped hold the Wolverines (2-2) to their lowest output of the young season.

“It felt very good, especially to be a part of a big win,” Truex said. “I’ve played with these guys for four or five years. I’ve known them forever and we have the chemistry. We trust each other, we know exactly where we’re going to be.”

Jason Stebbins led Westwood with three goals while Ryan Healey and Charlie Harrington also had a goal apiece.

Anderson started the scoring early for Derryfield, as he was able to get a loose ball from Westwood goalie Alec Solomon and beat the junior back to the goal to give the Cougars a 1-0 lead just 51 seconds into the game.

The early goal, along with Derryfield’s ability to keep faceoffs even, were a big boost.

“It was a big lift getting that opening goal,” Hettler said. “Their faceoff guy (Kevin Lyons) is really good, but I thought Connor O’Brien did a nice job of tying him up.”

The Wolverines tied the game three minutes later, on Stebbins’ first goal, and they took a 2-1 lead with 5:59 left in the opening quarter on a goal by Harrington. But Weimer answered 1:10 later, scoring off a feed from MacLean, to tie it at 2, and that’s where it stood going into the second.

MacLean broke the tie, scoring twice in a span of 1:32, to give Derryfield a 4-2 lead with 8:50 left in the half, but Stebbins cut the lead to one with 2:52 remaining. Westwood won the faceoff, but Truex came up with a save to help the Cougars take the lead into halftime.

Weimer made it 5-3 with 8:45 to go in the third quarter, and in the final minute of the frame, Truex made a save and started a fast break that led to Senatore’s goal with 24.1 seconds left in the quarter.

That lead turned out to be just enough.

“That was huge,” Hettler said. “If we can get to 6-3, I felt like a three-goal lead was going to be good, just the way things were going. We’re learning, we’ve got to get smarter with end-of-game situations, but games like these are going to pay off for us come playoff time, knowing we can handle close, tight games like that.”

Stebbins scored with a minute left on the clock to make it 6-4 and O’Brien was able to win the ensuing faceoff. It looked like Derryfield had gone back up by three, but a goal by MacLean was waved off on a crease violation.

The Cougars were then caught offside with 35.7 seconds left, leaving them a man down, and Healey scored with 21.7 seconds left to make it a one-goal game. After Lyons won the faceoff, Westwood took a timeout with 17 seconds left.

“To me, keep the ball out of the net and keep everyone from freaking out, that’s what is most important,” Truex said. “I don’t have to do worry about doing my job if they do their job. That’s the biggest thing, keeping the defense up in that kind of situation.”

Derryfield’s defense stood tall, forcing a turnover and running out the clock to hang on for the victory.

“The defense has been tremendous, helping us to figure some things out on the offensive end and get guys healthy,” Hettler said. “Get guys used to new roles and stuff like that. It’s such a luxury to have four or five guys that are all just studs back there, getting the job done.”