Acton-Boxborough field hockey coach Mae Shoemaker knows that Wellesley is always a dangerous opponent.
“Wellesley scares me every year,” said Shoemaker, in her 23rd season.
So when the Raiders traveled to Leary Field Tuesday night for a Division 1 Round of 16 game, Shoemaker had her team firing on all cylinders.
On the strength of two first-half goals and strong defensive midfield play, fourth-seeded Acton-Boxborough held off a late charge by No. 13 Wellesley for a 2-1 win, advancing to a quarterfinal matchup (TBA) against three-time defending champion Walpole.
Charlotte Wren got the Revolution (16-3-1) on the board early in the first. A-B continued to control much of the play in the first 30 minutes, and added an Abby Lewis tally right before the half to extend its lead.
Wellesley (11-7-2) came alive in the second half. With 5:29 left in the third, Brooklynn Barber got the Raiders on the board off a textbook corner.
The Raiders continued to threaten, but A-B’s defensive midfield was particularly strong.
Shoemaker took a timeout with 7:02 remaining to give her defense a breather.
“They were getting a little frantic,” said Shoemaker. “I told them they needed to calm down. We were frantically pushing the ball right back to them. We talked about pushing it to the outside.”
With 1:04 remaining, Wellesley had one last charge. Starting from midfield, the Raiders tried to pass downfield, only to be stopped at every angle by the Revolution’s stringent midfielders.
“I thought we had a really strong midfield,” said Shoemaker. “They really work well together. They keep their positions and they pass well to each other.”
Division 1 State
Andover 3, Concord-Carlisle 2 — After No. 9 Concord-Carlisle (11-6-3) fired in two straight fourth-quarter scores to send the game to overtime, Halle Tisbert quickly scored the OT winner as the No. 8 Golden Warriors (16-2-2) held on for a second-round victory. Caroline Vaughan added a goal.
Attleboro 2, Bishop Feehan 1 — Taylor Mondello netted the tying score at the end of the third quarter, then set up Bella Soares minutes later on a fourth-quarter winner to help the No. 7 Bombardiers (13-6-1) claw to a comeback second-round victory.
Belmont 2, Lexington 0 — Reagan Moulis scored off a corner at the close of the first quarter, and Amelia Long connected with 11:38 left in the third to propel the second-seeded Marauders (18-1-1) to the second-round win over No. 14 Lexington (10-7-3).
Franklin 8, Beverly 0 — Ella Marzullo and Lila Reardon knocked in two goals and an assist apiece to lead the second-seeded Panthers (17-1-2) to a second-round rout of No. 15 Beverly (14-5-1). Penelope Brady added a goal and two assists for the victors.
Lincoln-Sudbury 5, Hopkinton 0 — Audrey Leonard scored and set up two other goals to power the top-seeded Warriors (16-0-2) to a second-round victory, the 300th career win for 28-year coach Vicky Caburian.
“It’s pretty emotional,” said Caburian of the milestone. “I’m really proud of the team and everybody who’s helped reach this milestone, from our coaching staff to the alumni who set this program up for success.”
Avery Acquaviva added a pair of scores in the shutout, with sister Emerson notching a goal and an assist.
“This team’s very special. I’ve got a great group of girls who are ready to compete. They’re workhorses, they’re talented, and a real uplifting team.”
Caburian said the Warriors are just getting started.
“We just want to make a statement,” she said. “Lincoln-Sudbury field hockey has historically been in the running and competitive. Here we are, let’s do it.”
Walpole 1, Natick 0 — Senior Caroline Handwerk netted the fourth-quarter clincher for the No. 5 Porkers (15-3-2) as they clawed to a second-round victory over Bay State Conference rival Natick.
Winchester 3, Waltham 0 — Ellie Drake, Riley Pimentel, and Addy Aufiero knocked in a goal each to propel the No. 6 Red & Black (13-5-2) to a second-round triumph.
Division 2 State
Canton 4, Longmeadow 0 — Senior Shannon Lane racked up a hat trick for the top-seeded Bulldogs (17-3-0) as they clamped down on a second-round win.
Hingham 4, Newburyport 1 — Libby Baxter had two goals and an assist, Remy Lynch and Libby Koyce each had a goal, and Quinn Hallisey had two assists for No. 5 Hingham in a second-round win over 12th-seeded Newburyport.
King Philip 2, Mansfield 0 — Ella Morgan notched two goals to lead the second-seeded Warriors (16-4-0) in a second-round shutout. Aubrey Houlding, Tayla McDuff, and Molly Cormier added scores.
Nashoba 3, Ashland 0 — Jocelyn Mariani knocked in a goal and assisted on another to lead the No. 3 Wolves (18-1-1) to a second-round victory. Meghan Hourihan and Victoria Masucci each scored, Cate Mattocks had five saves in the shutout.
Reading 2, Duxbury 1 — Sophomore Maddie Rodgers delivered with three minutes left in the first overtime period, powering the No. 9 Rockets (12-5-2) past the No. 8 Dragons (15-4-2) at Duxbury High.
Her sister, senior Lily Rodgers, scored with 8:32 left in the third quarter. Duxbury senior Shae Martin tied it with 13 remaining, and goalies Julianna Colon (Reading) and Erin Munro (Duxbury) kept their teams afloat before Rodgers’ heroics.
“We knew it was going to be close with our seeding,” said Reading coach Delaney Day. “We saw Duxbury two years ago and that was a close game. Our goal was to try and possess the ball as much as we could and control the momentum of the game.”
Westwood 2, Notre Dame (Hingham) 0 — Julie Hogan and Claire Kenneally struck for goals for the No. 7 Wolverines (11-4-5) in a second-round victory over No. 10 Notre Dame (9-10-1).
Division 3 State
Medway 2, Dedham 0 — Natalie McMenamy and Charlotte Malin rifled in first-half goals to help the No. 10 Mustangs (9-6-2) race past No. 7 Dedham (10-8-1) in a second-round victory. Brooke Eliadi earned the clean sheet.
Sandwich 3, Scituate 0 — Senior Elisabeth Stutzman tallied two goals for the top-seeded Blue Knights (20-0-0) in a second-round shutout. Junior Raelyn Senno also scored.
Uxbridge 7, Weston 0 — Ava Rosborough collected a hat trick to deliver the second-seeded Spartans (15-0-3) a second-round victory.
Watertown 5, Marlborough 0 — Senior Kaylee Master tallied a pair of goals to lead the No. 4 Raiders (18-1-1) to a second-round shutout. Ayda Tenaglia, Sydney Prestash, and Tyler Foley each added a goal.
Division 4 State
Dennis-Yarmouth 7, Northbridge 0 — Leah Woodward garnered a hat trick as the second-seeded Dolphins (14-3-3) earned a second-round triumph. Olivia Almonte and Jenna Richard fired in two goals apiece.
Frontier 7, St. John Paul II 0 — Brynna Fahey, Haly Doucette-Kaplan, and Michaela Sloan stacked two goals each as the No. 3 Red Hawks (19-1-1) soared to a second-round victory. Addie Harrington added a goal.
Hopedale 4, Narragansett 0 — Ella Stokes led with a pair of goals as the No. 5 Blue Raiders (16-4-0) stormed to a second-round win at Woodland Elementary School in Milford.
West Bridgewater 2, Ipswich 0 — Haylee Krakowski and Sarah Diedrichsen each scored for the No. 7 Wildcats (18-3-1) in a second-round victory. Reese O’Keefe added an assist.
Joe Dimino and Inaaya Omer contributed to this story.
Kat Cornetta can be reached at sportsgirlkat@gmail.com.