Historic Postseasons For Monomoy Boys Soccer, Field Hockey Teams End In Heartbreak

The Monomoy boys soccer and field hockey teams’ historic seasons ended in heartbreaking fashion.

Hours after the field hockey team dropped a 4-0 decision to Uxbridge in the Division 4 state final at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the boys soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to Lynnfield in its Division 4 final at Scituate High.

It was a disappointing finish to what had been a magical few weeks for the two programs, both of which advanced to the state championship for the first time.

“We knew this would be a tough game,” Monomoy field hockey coach Kyle Cappallo said. “Obviously, we came up against a good team. We know what we need to do to get better and try to get back here again.”

The third-seeded Sharks field hockey squad hung tough with top-seeded Uxbridge for the majority of the first half before Spartans sophomore Julianna Casucci netted her second goal of the game to give the two-time defending state champions a 2-0 lead with six seconds left in the first half.

After the intermission, eighth-grader Ava Rosborough scored a pair of goals to help Uxbridge (22-1-0) claim its third title in a row. Monomoy, which had reached the past two Division 4 semifinals but failed to reach the state title game, finished with a 17-3-3 mark.

“I'm very happy about this year,” Cappallo said. “We set out at the beginning of the year to try to go farther than we did the previous year and we accomplished that goal. We had a strategy all along to get a high ranking so we could get a good seeding in the playoffs. We came through and played strong in the playoffs.”

Cappallo said Saturday should bode well for the future of Monomoy field hockey.

“We lose one starter – it's a very young team,” he said. “Ten of our 15 players are underclassmen. There's no reason we can't get back here next year and the year after.

“Once you get to this level, you know how hard you have to work in-season just to get back here. So, this is great playoff experience. Now that we’ve gotten a taste of this, anything other than [state] finals would be a disappointment for us.”

BOYS SOCCER

Although the ninth-seeded Monomoy boys soccer team controlled possession for much of the second half as it played with strong winds at its back, it was second-seeded Lynnfield that found the back of the net for the only goal of the game.

Junior Dillon Reilly was the hero for Lynnfield (19-2-2), as he put a perfectly-placed shot on goal that snuck past Monomoy (16-4-3) senior goalkeeper Paul Carlson to give the Pioneers a crucial 1-0 lead with 17:34 remaining.

“It's a final, so we knew anything could happen,” Monomoy coach Keith Clark said. “I think they played well — but in all honesty, I think we were the better team for much of the night.”

Lynnfield’s longtime coach Brent Munroe agreed with Clark’s analysis.

“We were just trying to hold on,” Munroe said. “I’m shocked we were able to.”

Although the Sharks were able to create scoring chances, the team never managed to manufacture scoring opportunities like it had hoped it would.

“We had our chances in the first half to take a lead going into the wind, and we felt in the second half going with the wind we'd probably be a little more dangerous,” Clark sad. “We didn't really create enough and their goalkeeper played really well.”

As disappointing as Saturday’s outcome was for Clark and his players, the coach said the past few weeks provided the team with a thrilling way to cap off the season.

“We've had so much great fan support and community support,” Clark said. “It's really been a lot of fun. There's been a lot of excitement and I think the players felt it. In the end, I knew we were going to be good this year, but I didn't know we were going to go this far. I think we've achieved more than what was expected from us.”

** Editor’s Note: Separate in-depth stories about each team will appear in this week's Chronicle. **