Print      
Lincoln-Sudbury dominates Reading
By Ethan Schroeder
Globe Correspondent

CONCORD — Junior Almeida and Lincoln-Sudbury wasted little time in establishing their dominance against Reading on Saturday.

After winning the opening faceoff, the junior attacker flanked down the right side of the field, beating Reading junior goalie CJ Hart for the game’s first goal only 12 seconds in. The Warriors would go on to add two more scores before a minute had passed.

In the end, Lincoln-Sudbury’s explosive attack proved to be too much for the Rockets and a 19-9 victory gave the Warriors (17-2) their second consecutive Division 1 North championship.

Last year, the two teams met in the Division 1 North semifinals. Lincoln-Sudbury won the matchup, 20-7, en route to a Division 1 state title.

Reading (19-2) answered the initial charge with two tallies, cutting a 3-0 first-quarter deficit to one, but the Rockets only managed one more goal the rest of the half. The Warriors’ entered the break with an 11-3 advantage.

Senior attackers Eric Holden and Harlan Smart paced Lincoln-Sudbury’s attack. Holden contributed seven goals and two assists, while Smart added three and six, respectively.

“I think one of the biggest things we’ve been working on the past couple weeks is just distributing that wealth amongst the offensive guys,’’ Smart said “That way, the defense can’t just focus on one or two guys.’’

Led by junior midfielder Kevin Tobin’s four goals, the Rockets’ attack picked up in the second half and kept the game competitive going into the fourth quarter. Lincoln-Sudbury’s offense continued to overpower, with goals from seven different players.

“Our depth is really key to our success,’’ Smart said.

The Warriors have outscored their opponents, 52-16, in the postseason, a statistic that coach Brian Vona attributes to his team’s selflessness.

“Everyone on our team, we don’t care about the goals,’’ Vona said. “We just care about executing and winning the game. Harlan was the guy today, Owen Toland had a few assists, and Holden had a few assists. I just thought we played a team game today.’’

Lincoln-Sudbury advances to the Division 1 state championship against the winner of Sunday’s South sectional final between BC High and Newton North.

The game will be June 18 at Boston University’s Nickerson Field.

“We have a few days to get ready,’’ Smart said, “and we’ve just got to take it nice and easy, but at the same time keep the competition up every day in practice.’’