Warriors In the Hunt for State Championship

Two teams from Foxborough High will take part in postseason play starting this week. The boys’ lacrosse team will start their quest for the state championship against Northeast Metro Tech on Tuesday at 5pm at State School Field while the girls’ tennis team will have to wait until Wednesday to see who their opening round opponent will be. In part 1 of our tournament preview, we’ll look at boys’ lacrosse and what is in store for them.

Coming in at the 4 seed, it's the best that the Warriors could of hoped for after losing the Hockomock Cup to Franklin.  Drawing the 29th seed NE Metro Tech in the opening round, it shouldn’t be too hard for the Warriors to get past the 9-7 Knights.  Expect a high scoring game against the Knights. Based on their season, NE Metro Tech looks like one of the teams that the Warriors can easily rack up 10-12 goals against.

On offense, the Warriors have prided themselves on having a balanced scoring attack. You won’t find a big 50+ goal scorer on this team. Instead, you’ll see an offense that features attackers that can score from anywhere. Connor Whalen and James Stather have been threats all year as attackers. At midfield, Billy Roberts has been equally as threatening. These are the three guys that anyone facing Foxboro are going to have to watch. In addition to Whalen, Stather, and Roberts, Cam Felix and Alex Pacitti have proven that they can produce goals when needed. Anyone on the Warriors offense has a chance to breakout. The fact that there isn’t one guaranteed goal scorer means that whoever faces Foxboro is going to have to cover their bases. Whoever is going to come out and have the big game is unpredictable and it could be anyone. It’s just the way Coach Matt Noone likes it.

All season the strategy on offense has been to spread it out and be patience with the shot.  Its what got them to 16-3 so its unlikely they are going to change that. What they are going to have to do it be able to use that spread offense to expose holes in the defense. Find the holes, and the Warriors will have chances to get near the crease for shots.

Anchored by Greg Stamatov in net, the Warriors defense has been strong all season. Even when the defense was off their game, Stamatov has been able to pick up the slack and lessen the damage. Expect a very aggressive defense out of the Warriors. They love to pressure the attackers and midfielders and play a physical game. If the defense can use the physical game, it’s going to be hard for a lot of attackers to get a shot off.

The Warriors have the talent to make a run in the tournament, but there are questions about how far this team can go. A 2nd round exit last year was a shock for the Hockomock League Champions. This year, the Warriors once again struggled to come up big when they needed to against Franklin in the Hockomock Cup.

The opening round game against NE Metro Tech is what Foxborough needs right now. They need a quick pick me up game to open up the tournament. As long as the Warriors play their game and don’t fall asleep on the Knights, they should be able to make it to the 2nd round and beyond.

Check back on Wednesday for part 2 of the Warriors tournament preview when we profile the girls’ tennis team.