RallyNorth.net

xt [4088]: WORCESTER, Mass. | The were no cheapies along the way here, Charlestown (ranked No. 1 in Eastern Mass.), No. 2 Lowell, No. 3 BC High, to name three truly high-powered victims.

The seeds had Andrik Cruz primed for a third straight sectional final disappointment.

Cruz would have none of that. The Methuen High senior, wrestling at 145 pounds, made his third North championship try a winning one, heading up an area contingent of two champs and 15 places moving on to the Division 1 North championships in Bridgewater next weekend.

It was a great day for Lancers at the Haverhill Invitational yesterday.

And it was a particularly good day for the Lawrence Lancers, who captured their second straight Haverhill Invitational title, rolling up 199<1/2> points to edge the runner-up Londonderry Lancers (174<1/2>) for top honors.

Before the New Year's Eve game, St. John's Prep hockey coach Kristian Hanson's message to his players was simple | keep shooting. Hanson knew St. John's of Shrewsbury had an outstanding goalie in senior Ben Siok, and the only way the Eagles were going to prevail was to put a lot of shots on net.

It ended | and it ended emphatically.

The defending Division 1 state championship St. John's Prep soccer team saw their 37-game unbeaten streak come to an end yesterday as host St. John's of Shrewsbury scored five first-half goals and blasted the Eagles, 6-1.

The trip to Shrewsbury didn't start off auspiciously for St. John's Prep. They ran into traffic, and their buses pulled up to the field 15 minutes before game time. To compound problems the Eagles were offside on their first play, and then fumbled the ball away.

Senior midfielder and captain Brett McLarney collected a rebound and scored in the second half helping St. John's Prep defeat rival St. John's of Shrewsbury 1-0 in Danvers. Eagles (2-0-1) goalie Doug Wilson made five saves in the shutout while sweeper Sean Bishop, fullback Stephen Gaudet and midfielder Justin Colella were other keys to the win.