SOUTH YARMOUTH — From the outside looking in, the expectations for the Dennis-Yarmouth boys’ lacrosse team entering this season were consistent with any other year the Dolphins have taken the field: a potential bubble playoff team that wasn’t likely to make any serious run.
Dennis-Yarmouth’s Andrew Jamiel spins past a Canton defender Wednesday afternoon in the Dolphins’ first-ever boys’ lacrosse postseason win.
Phil Garceau/Capecod.com Sports
But after a season of seemingly never-ending firsts that included wins over perennial powerhouse Atlantic Coast teams, the third-seeded Dolphins (16-5) continued to turn heads on Wednesday evening when they defeated No. 6 Canton (11-7), 5-4, in the Div. 2 South Sectional semifinals for the first postseason victory in the program’s history.
“I told the guys in the first meeting of the season not a lot of people are expecting much from us,” first-year head coach Andrew Jamiel said after the game. “But I told them we are going to beat Sandwich, we are going to beat Falmouth for program history firsts, we are going to the playoffs and we’re going to go by beating good teams.”
Now on the heels of their first-ever postseason victory, the Dolphins continue to explore uncharted territory, as they advance to the Div. 2 South semifinals where they will travel to second-seeded Scituate (14-7) on Saturday (June 6) at 4:00 pm.
But rather than bask in the glory of their accomplishments, the Dolphins will be quick to turn the page, as Jamiel explained with a Belichickian response.
“I told the guys we are onto Scituate. We kind of bring that Patriots’ mentality to it where it’s great we won a game, but the win doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is we win the next one,” Jamiel explained.
The Dolphins achieved victory by playing to the strengths they have portrayed all season long, utilizing a stifling defense while their offense capitalized when presented with scoring opportunities.
Dennis-Yarmouth goalie Sean McNamara proved once again a near impenetrable wall in net Wednesday versus Canton.
Phil Garceau/Capecod.com Sports
Tom Slovak emerged with a majority of the Dolphins’ scoring chances, as the Bulldogs’ defense keyed in on offensive juggernauts Andrew Jamiel and Ian Crosby. With an extra defender shadowing the dynamic duo up top, Slovak often snuck into the interior of Canton’s defense where he scored all three of his goals.
Kevin Reid and Andrew Jamiel scored the other two Dolphin goals, coming at critical times. Reid tied the game at 2-2 early in the second quarter while Jamiel gave D-Y the lead in the final minutes of the third quarter.
The games’ first goal came when Crosby sent a pass across the attacking zone to Slovak, who buried the open look just over four minutes into the game.
Jason Finn fed Slovak for his last two goals, the second of which proved to be the game winner with 2:23 remaining. Both Finn feeds came from behind the net.
“All of our opponents put their poles on the middies, and that leaves the weaker players on the attack men which gives us way more opportunities for shots,” Slovak said.
Following Slovak’s final goal, which gave the Dolphins a 5-2 lead with just over two minutes remaining, the Bulldogs made things interesting by scoring twice before the game ended.
But with just nine seconds remaining after their fourth goal of the afternoon, it was too little, too late as the Dolphins tied up the ensuing faceoff as time expired.
“Canton was the best matchup we could have had because they are so similar to us,” Coach Jamiel said. “(They are) very athletic and well-disciplined and there was not going to be anyone ripping off 10 straight goals.”
Dennis-Yarmouth’s Ian Crosby lowers the boom on a Canton defender in the Dolphins’ 5-4 south sectional victory – a school first.
Phil Garceau/Capecod.com Sports
The anchor of the Dolphins’ defense — which forced a Bulldog scoring drought that lasted nearly 35 minutes — was junior goalie Sean McNamara who turned in nine saves during the game, all coming over the final three quarters while the game was still up for grabs.
That close-game environment has been a Dolphins’ forté this season, as evidenced by numerous low-scoring affairs.
“All the defense has been playing unbelievable all year,” McNamara said. “I love those guys and we work hard every day and it pays off in games like this.”
It is no secret that the key to winning at the high school level is a strong youth program, and the Dolphins are beginning to reap those benefits.
“We were the first D-Y youth team to come through with coach Spano and all those guys so it feels awesome to come a long way,” Slovak said.
— Story written by Capecod.com Contributing sportswriter Phil Garceau. Follow him on Twitter @pcgarceau.
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