Opening first-round play on Friday afternoon at Chandler Field, the Dragons put on a lethargic first-half performance against No. 16 seed Central Catholic of Lawrence with sloppy play and little sense of urgency.

When the first 12 minutes were over, the Dragons had rallied from a 1-0 deficit with two goals by sophomore attack Seamus Connolly.

The pack-it-in defense of Central Catholic was making life difficult for the Dragons, who unloaded several shots on goaltender Sean Kennedy, many of them going wide or bouncing high over the net.

Connolly appeared to be the only player getting the message, as he rattled a shot off the post in the first two minutes of the second quarter before sophomore attack Paul Hellar made it 3-1 at the 9:30 mark.

The Dragons squandered a man-up situation with 8:19 remaining that could have deflated the Raiders, but CC’s Chris George made sure his teammates didn’t lose faith when he was all alone in the slot and beat Mickey Zaverucha to cut the deficit to 3-2.

A minute later Connelly was at it again, weaving his way through the CC defense from behind the net and slipping his shot along the ground past Kennedy for a 4-2 lead.

Central Catholic has a solid athletic reputation in all sports. It has yet to come in lacrosse, but the team’s ability to hang tough was never more evident than what it showed in the final minute of play.

Being very deliberate in their offense, the Raiders set up attack Andrew Ouelette behind the net. The senior dodged his way out front, splitting two defenders and slipping his shot just inside the far post to make it 4-3 at halftime.

A stunned Duxbury crowd wondered if the long layoff made the Dragons rusty, but Coach Chris Sweet had a very simple explanation.

“The effort wasn’t there,” said Sweet.

This team can beat anyone when they go all out every minute: a philosophy Sweet has tried to impart on his young team since day one.

In the second half the Dragons got the message, as Connelly continued to lead the way with a pair of goals in the first two minutes. Another score by Will Siefert had Duxbury ahead 7-3.

The Raiders got a bit closer at 7-4 immediately after Siefert’s goal, only to see Duxbury turn on its juices the rest of the third quarter to take a 13-5 lead with 12 minutes left in the game.

Fourth quarter scores by seniors Nick Woodgate, John Ricciardi, and Dan Brockwell ended the afternoon for the Dragons, who went home with a 16-5 win and quickly learned that the pace of the game picks up come playoff time.

“I think the players got the message that if they don’t put out the effort this time of year they are going to be in trouble,” said Sweet. “If they want to extend the season they better learn that they have to play hard and want it more than the other team. Central Catholic played a great first half. They had a good game plan and they played a great zone defense. It took us awhile to find the combination to it, but once we cracked it, it went our way.”

The victory sends the Dragons to the quarterfinal round on Wednesday afternoon when they play Marshfield at Chandler Field. The game is scheduled to be played at 5 p.m., but may be moved up to 4 p.m., so check the DHS athletic Web site for correct time.

“I expect a game just like you saw Friday,” said Sweet. “I just hope the score is the same. What you saw from Central Catholic is a style very similar to Marshfield. They are very athletic and play a pack-it-in type zone defense. When they get the ball they take it to the net and try to catch us off guard before we have had a chance to set up. We just need to play the type of game we played in the second half on Friday.”