Cheers for CCHS’ gutsy state champs
For me, this team exemplifies the best that high school sports has to offer and the qualities it can cultivate when done right.
They say the third time’s the charm, but I beg to differ. On June 10, the Acton-Carlisle girls lacrosse team won its second consecutive Division 1 state championship, in sudden death overtime.
In over 50 years of watching athletic contests, I have rarely witnessed a gutsier performance. Heading into the game, the fates did not favor them, and for any number of reasons, they might have mailed in their performance and found excuses for a loss: Their all-star attacker was injured in the semifinals and unable to play, their opponent was a perennial lacrosse juggernaut with a record of 21-1 who had steamrolled through the tournament, half the CCHS starters were underclassmen, the day and the turf were brutally hot, and after the first quarter they were already down 5-2.
But not this team. Not this day.
No matter what the obstacle, they found a way through. Throw an errant pass and lose possession, get in position and start riding; cross-checked to the turf, get up and keep playing; give up a goal, score the next one. No problem appeared to faze them or compromise their self-belief. All game, they kept encouraging each other and running hard.
We often romanticize sports and extol virtues and performances that are exaggerated or even imaginary. But that is not the case here. For me, this team exemplifies the best that high school sports has to offer and the qualities it can cultivate when done right: teamwork, grit, discipline, accountability, and caring. Had they lost the final, we would have been sad, but it would not have detracted one iota from the excellence of their performance or their team.
To Coach Cash, Coach Brennan, and every player on the 2026 girls lacrosse team, congratulations and thank you.
Jon Grayzel
Grant Street
