The fifth Division V girls soccer state tournament final game will be played on Saturday at Curry College. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:15 p.m. between No. 4 Monson and No. 3 Hull.
Monson, who won the 2023 title, entered its state tournament run coming off a 2-1 loss in the Class C Western Mass. Tournament to Mount Greylock.
Entering the postseason, it carried a positive attitude.
“We just turned the page, and we knew that the Division V in the state was wide open, and why not us,” Mustangs coach Larry Pagliaro said.
Over the postseason run, Monson has put 18 goals past its opponents. Defensively, the Mustangs have only allowed four goals to get past their defenders.
“We’ve been talking about how our resiliency has really just been a big key to our late season success,” Pagliaro said. “We talk about the season being a journey and pretty much…every team has their ups and downs. We talk about there are some games, that we won later in the year in the tournament too, maybe we may have struggled to win earlier in the year.”
In its opening game, in the round of 32, Monson shut out Franklin County Tech. Netting four goals, they were back to winning ways.
The round of 16 saw the Mustangs record its biggest scoreline. Recording another shutout and seven goals against Holbrook Middle-High School.
For its quarterfinal game, Monson got five past Saint John Paul II. The final scoreline was 5-3. This was one game which Pagliaro wasn’t sure Monson would’ve come back and won earlier in the season.
Tuesday night the golden ticket was punched. To grant their spot in the championship game, the Mustangs won 2-1 in double overtime.
Hanna Murphy was the saving grace of the night, recording both goals for Monson and ensuring it had the chance to compete for a second state title.
“Back to the quarterfinal game, I said to [Murphy]; ‘I’ve seen you play a lot of soccer games,” Pagliaro said. “…I’ve seen you score a lot of goals, and [then] she scored a couple of goals against Saint John Paul II. I felt like, overall, everything considered…I thought she played one of the best games I’ve ever seen her play.”
On the season, Murphy leads Monson with 36 goals. She has also provided four assists.
Pagliaro stressed the importance of co-coach Brooke Murphy to his team’s success this season and getting them to where they are.
Hull kick started its tournament run with a dominate 9-1 showing against Smith Academy.
In their next two games, the Pirates put six past their opponents. Against Boston Collegiate Charter School in the round of 16, the final scoreline was 6-0, Hull’s first shutout of the tournament. In the quarterfinals, it allowed two to get past its defenders, winning 6-2 against Nashoba Valley Technical.
To secure their spot in the championship game, the Pirates shut out Hopedale 1-0.
Scoring 22 goals during its tournament run to Monson’s 18, Hull and the Mustangs will both have to find creative ways to get to the back of the net.
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