Waltham 17, Newton South 4: The long road back

The Waltham High boys lacrosse team is a little way further down the process that Newton South may just be beginning.

Two years ago, the Hawks were in a similar spot to where the Lions find themselves now. As an inexperienced squad playing a schedule full of state title contenders, Waltham struggled to three victories two years ago and only three more last season.

But patience and effort have proven to be virtues for the Hawks. After a 3-4 start to this season, the Hawks have now won seven of their last eight games - including yesterday's 17-4 triumph over South - to earn a spot in the state tourney for the first time since the run to the Division 1 state final in 2005.

``There's no doubt that the previous two seasons we struggled,'' said Waltham coach Steve Duffy, whose squad improved to 10-5. ``I think we learned from those experiences and how we played. The team has matured since last year, and over the course of this season as well. The maturity we exhibited (yesterday) - taking a close game at halftime and blowing it open in the third quarter - kind of shows where we are and we hope to be (when the tournament starts).''

The Hawks clung to an 8-4 lead at the break before reeling off nine unanswered goals in the second half. Senior Evan Mula and sophomore Ryan Pratt led the onslaught with six goals apiece. Senior Craig Mantey, junior D.J. Nurse and sophomore Chris Annunciata each had a goal and two assists, senior Tim Doolin had three assists, junior Chuck Pepper had two assists, senior Bobby Nadolny had a goal and assist and senior Mike Merrifield had a goal.

``You look at the play Evan Mula had today when they throw the ball to the goalie and he is literally vertical to the ground making a play,'' Duffy said. ``Two passes later, it's in the back of the goal.

``The effort has always been there and they are seeing the benefits of that effort. We lost a lot of close games last year and the year before. Now they are seeing that they just needed that little bit extra. I think that's maturity.''

As the Lions may find out under first-year coach David McCallum, it can be a long, slow process. Even this season, with expectations of a breakthrough season in their final year in the Greater Boston League before joining South in the Dual County League next spring, Waltham struggled with inconsistency early. After a 16-7 wipeout against Arlington on April 19, Waltham was a game off playoff pace through seven contests heading into school vacation week.

``The loss to Arlington was a turning point,'' said Duffy, whose team exacted revenge on the Ponders with a 16-11 triumph at home last Friday. ``We really didn't feel they were the kind of team that should beat us the way they did.

``Vacation week is kind of that week where you can kind of tell which team is going to excel. I think we bonded. Playing that game against Winchester (an 11-5 victory on April 26) was really a boost for us with the way we clicked.''

Duffy noted that even when the improvement came, it took a while for the consistency to follow. It is a lesson McCallum could have shared with his team yesterday.

Following one of the biggest victories of the season with a 10-8 triumph over Westford Academy on Monday, the Lions (4-14) started reasonably well yesterday before things took a turn for the worse.

``They played tough (Monday) against Westford and won, which was great,'' said McCallum, who yesterday got two goals from Dan Marks and one apiece from Will Richardson and Liam O'Flaherty. ``But they've got to be able to come back in a situation like this and at least keep it close. They don't have that poise yet because they're so young.''

The youth is something McCallum and his team knew it would have to deal with this season as he loaded up the schedule even though he brought only two seniors back from last year's varsity squad.

``We knew the situation we were getting into when I took the job and that's all there is to it,'' the former Acton-Boxboro coach allowed. ``We don't have a senior class, really, and this was a team that was 5-11 last year playing nobody. We really can't get mad at them because this is what we set up for.''

Rather than wait to increase the power rating of the schedule until his squad might be better able to handle it, McCallum said he decided to do it right away so there would be no second adjustment when it happened down the road.

The Lions are playing a slate this season that includes BC High, St. John's Prep, Xaverian and Malden Catholic as well as a renewal of the Waltham rivalry after a 15-year hiatus.

``That's the schedule that gets into the state tournament and gets you to win a state championship,'' McCallum reasoned. ``They don't know how to prepare for a Division 1 schedule. The offseason will be a main thing for us.''

As the Lions begin that process looking toward next year, the Hawks get to look forward to playing after Memorial Day for the first time in three years.