The stage was set. The weather actually cooperated for once this season. The Walpole Rebels were returning to Beaver Street Field in Franklin to avenge their regular season loss to the undefeated Panthers. It was a highly anticipated rematch for both teams and there were plenty of spectators on hand to witness the championship game.

The Panthers scored first and set the tone early. They controlled the ball for the majority of the first half and played outstanding defense en route to a 4-0 halftime lead. This was an unusual position for the Panthers since they trailed in most of their games during the season including the semifinal playoff game.

The Rebels must have received a spirited half time speech because they came out flying in the third quarter. They were able to pull within one of the Panthers going into the fourth quarter. The Panthers were whistled for a couple untimely penalties and Walpole was able to take advantage with their extra man unit on the field. The Panthers were finally able to pull ahead by two goals and stave off the late game comeback attempt by the Rebels.

The final game ended with a 7-5 victory for the Franklin Panthers, who enjoyed their first ever FNL championship. The game was a well-played clean game by both teams.

Friday, June 10, 2011, Beaver Street Field, Franklin

Round 1 will begin tonight, Friday, June 3rd.

Game 1: Franklin Panthers v Westwood Wolverines, Beaver St Field, Franklin, 6:00 PM

Game 2: Walpole Rebels v King-Philip Warriors, Turco Field, Walpole, 8:00 PM

King-Philip  v Franklin

Our regular season has come to a close and we are now entering The 2011 Playoffs!

For 2011, the top 4 ranked teams will enter the playoffs. The semi finals will be:

Game 1: King-Philip vs Westwood, Friday, 5/20, 6:00 PM, Anderson Field, Wrentham

Game 2: Franklin vs Walpole, Friday, 5/20, 6:00 PM, Beaver St Field, Franklin

The winners of game 1 and game 2 will meet for the U13 FNL Championship!

Match	Score
May 20, 2011 6:00 pm Anderson D Field, Wrentham –	10 - 3
May 20, 2011 6:00 pm Beaver St Field, Franklin –	9 - 8
June 3, 2011 6:00 pm Rice Complex, Wrentham –	-:-

U13 SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW

King-Philip vs Westwood

This is a seed 1 v seed 4 game. The most disparate records in the playoffs; KP is a 6-0 team, Westwood a 3-3 team. The game results aren’t the real story here, the real story is found in the statistics and by all accounts King-Philip is a monster of a team, doling out beat downs as if the other teams owe them cash. Digest this for a second, KP has found the back of the cage 70 times this season while only allowing 8 goals. Eight. An average of 1.3 goals per game while killing the cage on the other end with almost 12 goals per game.

Westwood is going to have to become very aggressive offensively if they are to overcome the stingy KP defense. The Wolverines are a very balanced team, they’ve averaged nearly 6 goals per game, but they’ve also allowed an average just over 5 goals per game. Shutting down the KP offensive is a task unto itself, but finding the back of the cage will be the real test.

The last time these teams met, it was a 10-2 game in favor of KP. Westwood wants to return the favor.

Prediction: Warriors, and a long ride back to Wolverine town.

Franklin vs Walpole

By rights this should be the closer game in the semi-finals, however the last time these teams met at Beaver Street it was a 15-0 rout by the Panthers. Has Walpole learned anything since that game earlier in the season?

Looking at the numbers, Franklin leans towards being a very offensive team averaging almost 11 goals per game while Walpole appears to allow more than 6 goals per game. Walpole has actually allowed more goals than they’ve put up with a 35:38 ratio.

Walpole has gained some confidence and should find the cage this time around, but the Panthers are also on a 4 game winning streak and they’ve rested with their last game on 5/6.

Prediction: Panthers, Rebels start their golfing season early.

The U13 Panthers ran all over the Rebels, beating them up for a 15-0 debacle.

The U15 Panthers – Rebels game was more evenly matched, the teams traded goals throughout the game and ended it with the Panthers 6, the Rebels 5.

U15 Panthers beat the Warriors, 9-4

U13 Panthers decimate the Warriors, 19-3

The U15 game was Franklin 8 – KP 7

The game was back and forth all night and came right down to the last minute with Franklin taking the lead with 1:40 left KP got 2 more chance to tie in the last minute but came up just short.

The U13 Game was KP 6 – Franklin 2

As always this game was a battle with solid lacrosse played on both sides, KP controlled the tempo of the game