Laramee's Late Goal Sends Monomoy Boys Soccer To Division 4 State Championship

SCITUATE – Monomoy’s Cardiac Kids are moving on to the state championship.

After sweating out one-goal victories over eighth-seeded Frontier in the second round and top-seeded Cohasset in the quarterfinals, the ninth-seeded Monomoy boys soccer team was calm, cool, and collected with a trip to the state final on the line.

Junior Ryan Laramee netted the lone goal with 18:52 remaining in the second half, and the Monomoy defense held on the rest of the way to help propel the Sharks to a 1-0 victory over fifth-seeded Gardner in Tuesday’s Division 4 semifinal at Scituate High School.

“That was the greatest accomplishment of my life — scoring that goal knowing that we were going to hold up at the end,” said Laramee, a Harwich resident. “We did it against Frontier, we did it against Cohasset, we did it again and we’ll keep doing it if we need to.”

The win sends Monomoy to the state championship for the first time in program history. The Sharks will face second-seeded Lynnfield (18-2-2) in the final Saturday (Time/location TBA). Lynnfield advanced with a 2-1 victory over Hampshire Regional in their semifinal earlier Tuesday.

Monomoy generated plenty of scoring chances prior to Laramee’s game-winning goal, including early in the first half when Laramee struck the crossbar after being on the receiving end of a give-and-go that sprung him free inside the Wildcats’ 18-yard box.

The junior’s goal came off a remarkable pass by senior Noah Metters that snuck behind the Gardner (15-4-2) defense down the left sideline. Laramee chased the ball down, then blasted a shot off his left foot that struck the crossbar and bounced into the net past Wildcats goalkeeper Wyatt Tom.

“When he goes through and he sets up for his left foot, you know that it’s going to be on frame,” Monomoy coach Keith Clark said of Laramee. “He’s a quality finisher. We lean on him a little bit, but Seamus [St. Pierre] has really stepped up to help free up Ryan to get around.”

With the lead secured, Monomoy’s defense did everything it could to keep Gardner away from the Sharks’ goal. Seniors Braeden Darling and Greg Greiner partnered with juniors Finn Hyora and Owen Ramler on defense to limit the Wildcats’ shots on senior goalkeeper Paul Carlson, who made eight saves in the shutout.

“Our backline was unbelievable,” Clark said. “The saying goes that defense wins championships, and I think that showed today.”

Clark credited Darling for being a motivational leader that has delivered inspiring messages to the team throughout its four postseason victories. On Tuesday night, Darling’s message to his teammates focused on the team’s will to work harder than its opponents.

“There was never a doubt from the beginning, but we know that we’re willing to work harder than any other team,” Darling said. “As long as we work the entire time, we’re going to come out with a win. We fight for each other and we sacrifice for each other because this group of boys, all we want to do is play another game together.”

The Sharks have already accomplished the best season in Monomoy boys soccer history, but there’s still more to gain with a victory on Saturday.

“It would be historic,” Clark said. “I think it would be something good for the soccer program, for the community, and for the school.”

The players are going to empty their tanks, Laramee said.

“We all know this is our last game,” he said. “There’s nothing to leave behind. It’s the last game no matter what, and we’re going to leave it all out there.”