Setting the state's single season record for goals was bittersweet for Old Colony's Harrop
ROCHESTER — It was a good news, bad news kind of a day for the Old Colony boys lacrosse team on Monday.
Junior attack Will Harrop scored five times to set a state record for goals in a single season (136), but the Cougars dropped a 13-8 decision to Blackstone Valley Tech in the championship game of the State Vocational Tournament.
"It was disappointing to lose like that, because we worked hard to get here," Harrop said. "It's an honor to set a state record and I have to give my teammates credit. They do a great job passing the ball to me and I've been able to finish a lot of good scoring chances."
Harrop also surpassed 200 career goals on Monday, an amazing feat considering that he's only played a total of 32 games for the Cougars after his freshman season was cancelled and he only got to play a half season as a sophomore because of the COVID pandemic.
"It was tough not getting a chance to play, so I was determined to make the most of this season," said Harrop, who has a career scoring average of 6.3 goals a game. "I worked hard in the offseason and it paid off. We have good players and a lot of chemistry with each other. It's been a season to remember."
The Cougars won the program's first Mayflower Athletic Conference championship with a 9-5 win over Tri-County and they will play a Round of 32 game in the MIAA Div. 4 State Tournament on Wednesday.
2022 MIAA LACROSSEPLAYOFFS: See which 10 SouthCoast teams qualified and who they will face
"It's been a team effort all season. We've played with a lot of balance on offense and defense," said Old Colony coach Geno Busa, whose team is ranked 13th in the state-wide Div. 4 power rankings. "It took a lot of hard work and grit to get to where we are as a team. We're lucky the season isn't over. We still have a tournament game to play and we want to keep the season going."
Harrop broke the state record of 134 goals scored by Mount Greylock junior Michael McCormack in the 2014 season. McCormack is the state's all-time leader in career goals (362), assists (249), and points (611), and Busa said Harrop has earned his spot among the state's all-time best players.
"He never puts his stick down. Lacrosse is a year-round thing for him. He works on his game in the offseason and he puts in a lot of time in the weight room," Busa said. "He's a focal point of our offense and he gets a lot of touches. He finds space really well and he's good at creating scoring chances for himself and his teammates. Will can score inside and he has an outside shot that can beat goalies, so he's a threat all over the field."
It hasn't been all peaches and cream for Harrop, who takes a beating in every game and has gotten used to going up against double and triple teams.
"Lacrosse is a tough, physical game and I have the bruises to show for it," Harrop said. "I go home and lie down and it hurts all over. There's a lot of pain, but my adrenaline keeps me going. So does my love for the game. It's a challenge every time I take the field."
The top-seeded Cougars took a 4-3 lead into the third quarter against Blackstone Valley Tech, but the game slipped away in the third quarter when the third-seeded Beavers put seven unanswered goals on the board to build a 10-4 lead. Old Colony went on to outscore the visitors 4-3 in the fourth, but it wasn't enough.
"We won a lot of faceoffs in the third quarter, but we had too many giveaways against a good offensive team," Busa said. "We also didn't possess the ball like we wanted to. We lost the ball a lot and struggled to get anything going on offense."
Despite trailing only 4-3 at halftime, the Beavers got an earful from their coaches during the break.
"We talked to them and told them that they controlled their own destiny," head coach Andrew Barksdale said. "We knew we had to start passing the ball better and start making better decisions at both ends of the field."
The talking to worked, because the Beavers scored 1:06 into the third quarter to tie the game at 4-4 and they scored on six of their next seven shots to take a 10-4 advantage into the final 12 minutes of action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Harrop scored four goals in the first half to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead after the first quarter and a 4-3 advantage at halftime. The Beavers outscored the Cougars 7-0 in the third quarter to grab a 10-4 lead. The Cougars then outdueled the Beavers 4-3 in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring, with Harrop scoring his fifth goal of the game and sophomore midfielder Stu Burnham adding a hat trick.
WHAT IT MEANS: Old Colony dropped to 18-2 and snapped a 16-game winning streak. The No. 13 Cougars will host No. 20 South Hadley for a 4 p.m. Round of 32 matchup in the Div. 4 State Tournament on Wednesday. ... Blackstone Valley Tech improved to 15-6. The No. 21 Beavers will take a two-game winning streak into a 4 p.m. Div. 4 Round of 32 game at No. 12 Ipswich on Thursday.
BLACKSTONE VALLEY STATS: Junior attack Shawn Sexton scored four goals to lead the Beavers. ... Nick Petone, Jackson Mastroianni, and Adam Fransen had two-goal games and the Beavers also got solo scores from Alec Kaminski-Miller, Connor Matson, and Paul Hardcastle. ... Senior goalie Anthony DiDonna finished with nine saves. ... The Beavers were called for five penalties totaling three minutes.
OLD COLONY STATS: Harrop and Burnham took care of the scoring for the Cougars, who were outshot 28-17. ... Sophomore goalie Ryan Letendre turned away 15 shots. ... The Cougars were whistled for three penalties and played a man down for two minutes and 30 seconds.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Old Colony's Harrop set state's single season record for goals
