After winning both Invitational Tournaments (Barrington RI and Natick MA) they entered this spring and finishing the regular season with 26 wins and only 3 losses, Holliston was hoping that they could continue their solid play into the Ultimate Frisbee State Tournament. Based on their strong regular season showing the Panthers earned themselves a 2 seed in the Division 2 Tournament.
Once in the tournament playing amongst 23 other Division 2 teams, the Panthers not only showed they belonged but were worthy of the number two seed by capturing the State Championship. Following their five games, including two pool wins, Holliston earned a bye into the Semi Finals where they would take on a very talented St Johns Prep. The two teams battled it out in the first half with Holliston holding a slight 7-6 edge, but in crunch time the Panthers got their offense moving and scored every time they had the disc while not turning it over leading to a 12-8 time restricted game.
Having lost to Xaverian twice during the regular season, Holliston was looking for revenge in the Championship contest, but unfortunately the number one seed was upset by Somerville. Holliston would carry its semi final momentum over into the championship bout and took out Somerville 13-3 for the title.
“We would have liked to squared off again against Xaverian, but it wasn’t to be,” Holliston Coach Chris Levasseur said. “We knew that Somerville was going to be a hard game as they had beaten Xaverian who had beaten us twice. We wanted to play a smart game while staying calm, what I witnessed was probably one of the best executed games I have ever seen.”
According to the Panther Coach, Holliston had previously won the State Championship in 2008, but since that title the league has not only grown considerably, it has gotten more competitive. Needless to say this Championship means a lot more than the last.
Having become one of the more established programs in the state, everyone wants to go up against Holliston during the regular season. Leading the Panthers throughout the season were senior captains Teddy Campbell, a cutter, and Lee Mogren, the team’s handler. The younger athletes on the team not only respected the duo because of their work ethic, but they also learned from their mentors’ play.
In addition to their outstanding captains, Holliston had many talented athletes on its roster; a group that when they made a mistake owned it and then went out to redeem themselves for such errors.
One such athlete was junior Peter Georgakopoulos, a cutter by trade, but can play every position on the field if needed.
“Peter is an incredible athlete that blows everyone out of the water,” Levasseur said. “He is a great asset to our team; he can throw and handle and has definitely earned the respect of the other teams as well as his teammates.”
Kyle McDevitt, Georgakopoulos and James Crews were named the teams captains for next year. Georgakopoulos was the team’s MVP; Mogren (Offensive Player of the Year); Campbell (Spirit of the Game Award); Ben Durkee (Defensive Player of the Year) and Crews (Rookie of the Year).
Issue Date:
July, 2016
Article Body: