QUINCY — For an exhibition contest, the seventh annual BostonLax All-American Game certainly provided an unexpectedly heated finish Monday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Team Surgeon and Team Stallion — made from some of the best high school players in the state — exchanged three goals over the final 72 seconds with Franklin sophomore Matt Lazzaro whipping in a goal at the buzzer to give Team Surgeon a 22-21 victory.
“I knew the game was tied and we had short time,” said Lazzaro. “I saw the ball bounce right in front of me. I saw the ball pop out and saw the goal out of the corner of my eye and just shot it.”
Team Stallion had controlled the action most of the evening, with Reading senior Mike Tobin (three goals) and Winchester senior Jake Mabardy (three goals) leading the charge.
Trailing, 20-15, with more than eight minutes remaining, Team Surgeon responded with a 6-0 run capped by a goal from Nobles senior Will Zink with 1:12 remaining.
St. Sebastian’s teammates Mike Swirbalus (three goals, two assists) and Brian Piatelli (goal, three assists) teamed up for a score to tie it, 21-21, with 25 seconds to go.
In the game’s final seconds, Hingham’s George Egan (eight saves) made a clutch stop, but Lazzaro (three goals) was able to pick the ball out of a scrum and score the winner.
Dracut senior Allyn French, who led the Middies to their first sectional title, was named MVP for scoring a goal and dominating at the faceoff X. The Merrimack commit battled Jacob Alexander of Franklin and St. John’s Prep’s Craig Yannone, two highly touted recruits who happen to be his training partners.
“I’m fortunate enough to train with those guys [at Faceoff Factory], but it was good to see them in game action,” said French. “I’m super proud to be able to come out and put the Dracut jersey on one more time.”
It was also a nice sendoff for retiring Xaverian coach Tim Gardner and his son, Dylan, a senior long-stick middie committed to Michigan.
Since the game was played on the Boston Cannons home turf, the athletes were able to shoot from 2-point range, and Dylan buried a shot from beyond the arc in the first half. The senior, who battled through multiple knee injuries, added another goal in the second half.
“I’m proud of everything [Dylan’s] done and all that he’s overcome in his career,” said Gardner, who spent the past 20 seasons as head coach at Xaverian.
“A night like this is a fun showcase and a way to show off what they can do. He always works on trying to be an offensive threat, and it’s fun to see him let one fly.”
Scenes from the game:
