By Jared Keene
BostonLax Correspondent
WESTWOOD – Bill Daye is about as competitive as they come.
The Thayer Academy head coach gets that competitiveness from his days as a player. For those who may not know, or remember, Daye played professionally as a goalie for the Boston Cannons in 2001 and 2002, earning all-pro honors both seasons. Injuries unfortunately forced him to retire early, but he later got into coaching, even guiding the Cannons from 2006-2011.
So when Daye was asked to coach Team ISL in Tuesday night’s 12th annual BostonLax All-American Game, he accepted and had one thing on his mind: winning, particularly after the ISL fell to Team MIAA last year.
Daye watched on as one of his own, Thayer junior Teddy Lally, was named ISL MVP after his three goals and an assist helped lead the ISL to a 17-13 victory over the MIAA at Xaverian’s Hawk Bowl.
This was the third year of the new format and all proceeds went to the Ryan Killian Foundation.
“It was competitive, but we obviously wanted to get the ‘W’,” Daye said. “We spoke about that a lot in our pre-game huddle. It was great to be out here and have the opportunity to coach these guys. And with Teddy getting MVP, I want to see him bring that next spring.”
“It means a lot to me,” Lally said of winning his team’s MVP. “Just trying to be the best out of all these guys out here, the best in the state, so yea, it’s awesome.”
After a 3-3 opening quarter, the ISL went nuts in the second, outscoring the MIAA 7-1, including the final six goals of the half.
And Lally was a key contributor to that frame, notching two goals – the second of which gave the ISL a lead it wouldn’t relinquish – and an assist on Preston Evans (Belmont Hill) lefty rip from 10 yards.
When the MIAA trimmed a seven-goal third quarter deficit down to 14-11 in the fourth, Lally popped up again. He got to the net, ducked under a check, and finished up top from in close.
“It started off with a fast break goal early in the second and it just piled on from there,” Lally said. “It was a lot of fun playing with those guys. They’re good competitors and good teammates too.”
Also scoring during the ISL’s game-changing six-goal run was Belmont Hill’s Finn Fox.
The Princeton-bound LSM/defenseman, considered by many to be the best player in the state, took a bit to find his rhythm early on before showing off his defensive prowess and all-around ability throughout the rest of the game.
His goal, which made it 6-4 ISL, came in transition, as he raced upfield before unleashing an absolute laser from 10 yards that flew past Hingham goalie Nate Hoffman.
“I felt like I played relaxed tonight,” Fox said. “Just having fun with my buddies on the ISL squad. It meant a lot to play this year, especially leaving for college in a couple months. I’ve grown up playing with a lot of these guys in club and high school, so being able to play with and against them one last time was a lot of fun.”
The MIAA was led by its MVP, Needham defenseman Jack Curran, who was all over the field making plays.
Offensively, Scituate junior Willy Robinson (U.S. Military Academy) – one of the best stories of the season after his father passed away during the Sailors postseason run – led the way with two goals and an assist. Hopkinton’s Logan DelPonte (St. Bonaventure) and St. John’s Prep’s Luke Kelly (Michigan) added two goals apiece.
Despite trailing by at least five goals for the entire third quarter and early in the fourth, the MIAA never gave up, trimming the lead down to three on two separate occasions. They also had chances to cut the lead even more, but just couldn’t find twine when they needed to the most.
“I saw the kids have a lot of fun tonight, which is what this game is all about,” MIAA and Needham head coach Dave Wainwright said. “They brought a level of intensity to respect the game and they played all the way to the last minute. That’s all I can ask for from a group of guys getting together from all across the state that have never really played together.”
