Playoffs are icing on the cake after a strong season for Harwood Boys Lacrosse
June 8, 2021 | By Katie Martin and James Biggam Harwood’s semifinal victory against Stowe on June 4 was just another example of the dominance it mustered for the season, garnering the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. Here are some recaps assembled by Waterbury Roundabout correspondent Katie Martin and Times-Argus sports staffer James Biggam.
Even on the bench, the Highlander keep their eyes on the ball at the May 22 match against Stowe. Photo by Gordon Miller
May 28: Harwood 18, U-32 1
Senior Avery Fish kicked off the scoring and tallied a career-high three goals during a rout against U-32. Jake Green scored four goals for Harwood and teammate Addison Dietz made eight saves in front of the cage.
“Brian Bechtel really took the lead on face-offs and was able to win 85% of them,” Harwood coach Russ Beilke said. “And hats off to U-32 and their players for playing a hard-fought, clean game the entire time. They never got chippy and they played hard and fair all the way until the end of the game.”
Beilke said the spread demonstrated “what we do best, and that is team ball. We had multiple players scoring multiple goals and it was a whole team effort.”
May 25: Rice 14, Harwood 11
Rice boys lacrosse sailed to a home victory over Harwood, 14-11, after scoring three goals on a non-releasable two-minute Harwood penalty in the third quarter.
Harwood trailed 3-2 in the first quarter but the first half ended with a 6-6 tie. When the dust settled, Finn O’Hara had buried seven goals for Harwood; Sawyer Simmons, Jake Green, Gavin Thomsen and Jack Lansky all scored in the loss. Goalie Addison Dietz made 10 saves for HU.
“We expected to go in and face an undefeated Rice team,” Coach Beilke said. “They have some very good athletes and we can only control what we can control. Whether it was penalties or missed shots, we have to look at how we can take the next step and improve upon the game that we had today.”
Ty Samson was top scorer for the Green Knights with six goals in; Rice goalie Logan Lambrecht recorded six saves.
Harwood’s Jordan Grimaldi celebrates a goal by Finn O'Hara (No. 6). Photo by Gordon Miller
May 22: Harwood 15, Stowe 4
The home match against Stowe was the Highlanders’ third double-digit win of the season with Finn O’Hara tucking away five goals and Jake Green scoring four.
Jon O’Brien added two goals for HU, while teammates Jordan Grimaldi, Cam Forbes, Tyson Silivia, and Sawyer Simmons (three assists) tallied one goal apiece. Hayden Adams notched two assists; Brain Bechtel led on face-offs; goalie Addison Dietz stopped nine shots.
The Highlanders led 3-1 after the first quarter, opened up a 9-1 halftime lead and went into the final quarter up 13-2. “We won most of the face-offs and Gavin Thomsen was a beast with ground balls,” Coach Beilke said. “After the game, their coach told us that we’re a complete team.”
Thomsen won nine ground balls; O’Hara, Green, and Grant McCracken scooped up five apiece. One key strength, Beilke said, is being able to rotate the defense.
“Grant McCracken runs long-stick middie and he’s an unbelievably valuable asset who won a lot of ground balls off the face-offs today. Jon O’Brien and Finn O’Hara also played a bunch of defense today.”
Will McIntosh, Luke Farley, Rowan Pinkham and Adrien Bryan scored for the Raiders (5-3). Stowe goalie Conner Dunne stopped 13 shots.
May 20: Harwood 13, Milton 2
The trip to Milton paid off for Harwood with an easy victory where Finn O'Hara logged five goals, Jake Green landed three, and Colin O'Brien, Sawyer Simmons, Hayden Adams, and Cam Forbes each added one apiece. Goalie Addison Dietz made five saves.
Most of the action was in the first half that ended with the Highlanders in the lead, 9-2. Milton goalie Chaz Larivee was busy stopping 11; Logan Forkay and Riley Zeno got Milton’s two points on the board.
May 18: Harwood 11, Colchester 8
The Highlanders moved into double-digit territory quickly against Colchester, getting there with Finn O’Hara scoring five goals and a hat trick by Jordan Grimaldi. Highlanders Jon O’Brien, Jake Green and Cam Forbes scored and Sawyer Simmons dished out four assists.
Harwood trailed by one goal at halftime but ended the third up by two. “We took the lead midway through the third and we were able to maintain the lead the rest of the game,” Coach Russ Beilke said, crediting the defense for the strong finish. “Gavin (Thomsen) had a very good game on defense and Steven (Valadakis) also played very well,” he said.
Addison Dietz managed seven saves for Harwood; Kieran Phillips made 15 for the Lakers.
May 15: Harwood 10, Mt. Abe 3
Harwood hosted Mt. Abe/Vergennes, got to an early lead, and dominated possession for most of the game, earning their fifth win of the season, 10-3.
Both teams came out of the gate with speed and intensity, making field-length runs in the opening minutes. Harwood was first to score, landing two within the same minute.
The Mt. Abe goalkeeper made back-to-back stick saves, and charged at Harwood offensive shooters. At one point after a shot on the third Highlander goal, a Harwood player would roll over the top of the keeper’s back. Harwood added another rapid two goals, ending the first quarter up 6-0.
With plenty of stick-to-stick passes, Harwood kept Mt. Abe on the defense in the second quarter scoring just one point. Harwood added two more going into the half 8-1.
The Highlanders scored two more in the third; Mt. Abe added one, both teams getting aggressive and fighting for ball possession. Mt. Abe got two goals past Harwood in the fourth, but the Eagles were unable to catch up.
Coach Beilke credited Harwood goalkeeper Addison Dietz with an outstanding game that included 11 saves. He noted that “scoring was very well-rounded.” Jordan Grimaldi had three; Finn O’Hara and Jacob Green each landed two; Pacie McGrath and Jonathan O’Brien scored one each. Gavin Thomsen had two assists.
Mount Abraham goalie Aiden Danyow also logged 11 saves.
May 6: Burr and Burton 8, Harwood 6
Harwood varsity boys lacrosse met their first loss of the season, 8-6, hosting Division I Burr and Burton.
“Harwood got off to a slow start and tried to catch up but ran out of time,” said head coach Russ Beilke. “Harwood did not give up and played hard to the end.”
Finn O’ Hara led Harwood, capturing four goals; Jon O’Brien and Gavin Thomsen each got on the scoreboard once for the Highlanders. Sawyer Simons logged four assists and goalie Addison Dietz had six saves.
Despite the loss, the Highlanders (3-1) were ranked second in Division II behind undefeated Rice (3-0) and ahead of Spaulding (4-1).
April 29: Harwood 15, U-32 2
The Highlanders traveled to U-32 for a rainy but strong match against their local rivals.
Finn O'Hara landed four goals; Cam Forbes had three; Jordan Grimaldi scored two on top of two assists; Gavin Thomsen and Avery Fish added two apiece. Sawyer Simmons assisted on four.
April 26: Harwood 14, Hartford 4
Harwood opened the season strong with a 14-4 win over Hartford on the road, Finn O’ Hara and Jake Green leading the way and getting on the board early.
Coach Russ Beilke said the team had some first-game jitters, at times playing more fast and frantic than cool and collected.
A steadying force was Highlander goaltender Addison Dietz, who Beilke said was “like a brick wall.”
O’ Hara and Green were frequent fliers to the Hartford goal scoring seven and five respectively; Sawyer Simmons added one and Hayden Adams scored his first varsity goal.
Beilke credited the team overall, noting the defense managed to hold their opponent to a small number of goals. “Any time you hold a team under five goals, it is a solid win for the defense,” Beilke said.
SEASON NOTES
In his eighth year as head coach for Harwood Boys Lacrosse, 11th with the program overall, Russ Beilke started with an excellent turnout for tryouts this spring with 44 student-athletes looking to wear the Highlander lacrosse uniform.
Noting the 2019 break due to the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the spring sports season, Beilke called it “our best turnout in years.”
He began particularly looking to the team’s four captains to set the pace as “building blocks” for the team. “Our four captains are Finn O’Hara, Jono O’Brien, Sawyer Simmons and Gavin Thomsen. We are looking for them to provide leadership on and off the field.”
Beilke is assisted by coaches Drew Simons and Lorne Thomsen who he said bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and passion for the game of lacrosse.
A late start due to the pandemic and weather conditions this year compressed the spring schedule somewhat, but it didn’t change the mission at the outset given many new faces: “With so many players who are fresh to our system, we will be working on installing our offense and defense, along with a million other things,” said Beilke.
Those steps succeeded in building the No. 2 ranked team going into the state playoffs.
Katie Martin coaches Harwood Union JV and middle school field hockey, is an assistant coach with girls varsity ice hockey, and is a member of the Waterbury Select Board.
James Biggam covers high school sports for The Times-Argus.