Monomoy Field Hockey Clinches First State Championship Berth

HINGHAM – The Monomoy field hockey team’s historic season will end in the Division 4 state championship.

After suffering back-to-back losses in the 2021 and ’22 state semifinals, the third time proved to be the charm for the third-seeded Sharks, who clinched the program’s first state finals appearance with a 2-1 victory over second-seeded Manchester Essex in a semifinal Wednesday evening at Hingham High School.

Monomoy erased a 1-0 deficit after senior Susannah Brown and junior Emily Layton netted fourth-quarter goals off penalty corners. Layton, a Harwich native and University of New Hampshire commit, scored the game-winner with 5:19 remaining, and the Sharks defense held on to secure the victory.

“It’s honestly such a surreal feeling – it doesn’t feel real,” Layton said. “This is what we worked for for so long. We knew that we could do it.”

The win sends Monomoy (17-2-3) to the state final against top-seeded and two-time defending state champion Uxbridge (21-1-0) on Saturday at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Time TBA).

Monomoy lost to Ipswich in penalty shots in the ‘21 semifinals, then suffered a 3-2 double-overtime loss to Uxbridge in last year’s state semifinals before the Spartans cruised to a 5-0 victory over Manchester Essex to defend their Division 4 crown.

The teams met earlier in the regular season, with Uxbridge earning a 6-0 win Oct. 9 in Harwich.

“Anything can happen,” Monomoy’s second-year coach Kyle Cappallo said about Saturday’s rematch. “Last year, we took them to double-OT after scoring at the end of regulation. That game didn’t go our way, but we’re going to prepare ourselves and stick with our strategy and see how our luck goes.”

Manchester Essex (17-2-3) opened the scoring Wednesday when sophomore Laila Mears put home a rebound to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead 2:53 into the second half.

It marked the only goal Monomoy had allowed all postseason, as the team outscored opponents 17-0 in its first three games of the tournament. The deficit sparked the Sharks, who rallied to increase their pressure in the final quarter.

A flurry of consecutive corners eventually led to the goals, the first of which was off a shot by Layton and deflected by Brown.

Cappallo said the team is at its best when its playing at the top of the circle off penalties.

“We’re confident that we’ve got a really strong group of people on that circle,” he said. “If we get a chance to get some goals, then that’s where we’re going to get it done. That was our strategy and it worked.”

The coach marveled at his team’s ability to get over the hump against a veteran Manchester Essex team that reached last year’s final.

“We’re a young team,” Cappallo said. “To get to this level is not easy against a squad that has most of their starting lineup as upper classmen.”

After being a part of the past two heartbreaking finishes in the semifinals, Brown said bringing a stage title home “would mean everything.”

“Being a part of the team and losing in double-overtime and [penalty shots], it’s been absolutely devastating,” she said. “Just knowing that we were able to take the next step is awesome. Obviously, I want to win – but win or lose, knowing that we’ve made school history is huge.”

(An earlier version of this story stated Emily Layton scored both goals. Layton was credited for both goals by the public address announcer at the game, but video footage shows that Brown's stick deflected the ball into the net on the first goal)