Typically, when the Acton-Boxborough boys’ lacrosse team has lined up against archrival Lincoln-Sudbury over the past decade, the Revolution had to embrace the role of underdog.
But in Friday night’s Division 1 quarterfinal matchup, the third-seeded Revolution left no doubt, rolling to a convincing 15-7 victory on their home turf.
A-B (17-4) will face the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal between BC High (18-2) and Xaverian (12-6) in the state semifinals (TBA).
“We knew we weren’t the dog here,” said A-B coach Pat Ammendolia. “We’re home and we’ve earned it. We’ve got seasoned veterans here. A lot of our starters have been playing since they were freshmen. So it’s ‘Act like you’ve been there before,’ and they did that today.”
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It started with dominant play at the faceoff X from sophomore Mike Calvo, who set up Cam Matthews (4 goals, 1 assist) for a score just nine seconds into the action. The Revolution scored thrice in the first four minutes and led 7-3 at the break with Calvo winning 9 of 11 draws in the first half.
When the sixth-seeded Warriors (13-6) showed signs of climbing back in the third quarter, Revolution senior captain Tyler Clayton (4 goals, 1 assist) put those thoughts to bed with two key goals in the third, and his brother, Trey, a sophomore, added a key tally with 1:46 left in the frame to make it a 10-4 game.
“We wanted to get out to a good start, because [L-S is] such a great team,” said Clayton, a UMass Amherst commit. “We knew if we could possess the ball, we could do our thing. We got a little sloppy in the second half, so we just wanted to slow it down, play our game a little bit. I feel like when I get the ball in my stick I can make things happen.”
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Former Dual County League rivals, A-B and L-S also met seven times over eight postseasons from 2013-2021, with the Warriors winning five of those meetings. This was their first battle in the statewide format, and their first since L-S departed the DCL to play an independent schedule.
“It’s great representation for our league,” Ammendolia said, when asked why his team chanted “DCL” after the win. “We’re very proud of being league champs.”
With his faceoff unit playing well and junior goalie Will Steinkrauss (10 saves) strong in net, the Revolution coach is full of confidence heading into the semifinals.
“We knew we could get going if we could win faceoffs,” said Ammendolia. “If we can possess the ball, I don’t care who is on the other side, we’re tough to stop.”
Division 4 State
Sandwich 15, Lynnfield 4 — Connor Stack (3 goals, 4 assists), Avery Richardson (5 goals), and Cole Rodgers (4 goals) led the attack as the second-seeded Blue Knights (14-7) scored 11 straight goals to reach their second consecutive state semifinal. Sandwich led 4-3 early in the second quarter before going on its run, which included two goals and an assist from Hunter West-Mather. Shane Corcoran made 15 saves as the Blue Knights await their semifinal opponent, either Dover-Sherborn or Nantucket.
Zach Lyons contributed to this story.