Viking Boys Soccer Earns Dramatic Win in State Tourney Game
The Winthrop High boys soccer team earned one of the most epic and exciting victories in the program’s history — indeed, in all of Viking sports annals — with a 3-2 shootout triumph over South Hadley in an opening round contest of the MIAA Division 4 state tournament last Thursday evening before a large and boisterous crowd at a chilly Miller Field.
Prior to the decisive and dramatic overtime session, the Vikings, who entered the tourney as the 29th seed in D-4 with a 6-11-1 record, and the Tigers, the 36th seed with an 8-8-2 mark, had battled to a nil-nil deadlock for 100 minutes — 80 minutes of regulation and two, 10-minute, sudden-death overtime sessions — with neither conceding a goal.
That set the stage for the shootout in which both teams receive five shots from the penalty kick stripe, which is about 12 yards from the goal line. WHS freshman Kai Faber took the first kick and calmly delivered a perfect shot that cleanly beat the Tiger keeper. South Hadley’s first shooter then clanged a shot off the post, leaving Winthrop with a 1-0 lead.
The Tiger keeper then did his job, making a save on the next Winthrop shot by Viking Eron Muja, and the second So. Hadley shooter made good on his delivery to knot matters at 1-1.
Viking sophomore Noah Bayensdorfer boosted Winthrop back into the lead with a clean shot into the back of the Tiger net and the third So. Haldey’s shooter’s delivery went way wide, leaving Winthrop with a 2-1 lead after three rounds.
Sophomore lefty Cleison Sarnaglia gave the Vikings a 3-1 advantage with a perfect strike into the back of the So. Hadley net, but the fourth Tiger shooter also scored, making it 3-2 after four rounds, thus setting the stage for a dramatic fifth round.
The So. Hadley keeper proved equal to the task, making a leaping save off a high shot by Viking Sebastian Yepes, giving the Tigers some life and a chance to keep the shootout going.
The outcome of the contest then came down to a mano-y-mano duel between the fifth So. Hadley shooter and Viking keeper Mateo Martinez. The Tiger struck what appeared to be a game-tying goal with a line drive shot about three feet off the ground that was headed into the corner.
But Martinez then did his Superman imitation — though without the cape — displaying the form that has earned him a place as one of the best schoolboy keepers in the state this season. Mateo leapt off his spot at the strike, flying toward the post to his right with both arms outstretched — and knocking the ball down in front of the goal and out of harm’s way.
The Vikings’ immediately mobbed Martinez, but their celebration was delayed thanks to the indecisiveness by the refs, who apparently had lost track of the scoring, Ater checking — and rechecking — their scorecards, they finally declared that the Vikings had triumphed.
“South Hadley was the defending Division 4 state champion and we were playing without three starters,” said WHS head coach Phil Ronan. “Our defense, which has played superbly all year, led by senior Jack Osburn, junior Sebastian Yepes, and freshman Kai Faber, shut down their attack, backed once again by our EMass all-star and NEC all-conference goalkeeper Mateo Martinez, who kept us in the game.”
The victory advanced the Vikings to the Round of 32, traveling to #4-seeded Hamilton-Wenham (13-1-2) this past Sunday evening. Despite entering the contest as decided underdogs, Ronan’s crew gave the Generals all they could handle, trailing by a slim 1-0 margin at the half. H-W added another goal after the intermission for the 2-0 finale, bringing an end to the Vikings’ Journey to the Tourney.
“The contest was a very tight one,” said Ronan, whose squad once again was playing without three starters. “I had to give significant time to three JV players who had not played varsity all year, but they really helped us.
“We played our best four games of the year at the end,” Ronan continued. “We finished 7-12-1 and won a tournament game. Who would have ever thought that after we went 1-17 last year? But I told the team at last year’s break-up dinner that if we didn’t get into the tournament this year, it would be a failure. But we made the show and won one of the most amazing soccer games, if not THE most amazing game, in school history. I am so proud of this very young team. I could not have been more pleased and happy for them. They played hard until the final whistle in every game.
“We are losing two outstanding players in captain Mateo Martinez and defender Jack Osburn, as well as Lucas Coehlo, who had some big goals,” Ronan added. “But our future looks great with nine returning starters.”