MILTON – For the second year in a row, the Division III girls soccer championship between Medfield and Nipmuc was decided by just one goal.
This season however, it was Medfield who came out on top, defeating Nipmuc 1-0 to claim their third state title and first since 2012.
“It was just revenge,” Medfield captain Emily Hoffman said. “I know some of the girls on that team and they’re amazing but knowing that we got back here against the same team, the same score, just our way this year, it’s just unreal. We couldn’t let them have the second championship.”
For this group of Warriors, a championship in 2025 was the final step on their three-year arc together.
“This has been a climb for us the past three years” Medfield coach Melinda Lohan said. “Being in the final four and then losing last year in the state championship. To come back this year, our leadership, they’ve been a part of this entire journey and the experience that they bring to this team, it means everything to all of us.
“It’s what we decided last November after we lost. We sat down as a group and we said we would comeback and the outcome would be different this time around.”
Entering Saturday’s clash, Medfield and Nipmuc were a combined 42-1-1 and the No. 1 and 2 seeds in the Div. III state tournament.
On the field, both sides showed exactly why they got to the title game. During the year both Warrior teams flashed explosive attacks with nearly impenetrable defenses.
Early in the contest, it was Medfield who had the upper hand, controlling the ball and keeping pressure on Nipmuc.
In the 13th minute, after prying and prodding but with nothing to show for it, Medfield got things going with their counter play.
Quickly regaining possession, center back Stella Scobbo fired a ball down the right sideline for a sprinting Sidney Heavey. From there, the junior got past the defense and cut inside.
Rather than take the shot herself, Heavey passed it to Devon Weafer who knocked it in to give Medfield a 1-0 lead.
“Every time Sid beats someone and dribbles down, I know exactly where to be because she crosses it the same way,” Weafer said. “I just hit it in because I knew where she was going to pass it.
“I think it’s really cool but I give most of the credit to Sidney for beating everyone and crossing it in.”
For Heavey, the connection between her and Weafer has been growing since before they shared the same high school field.
“I know where she is constantly, we’ve been playing together since sixth grade,” Heavey said of Weafer. “We’ve got amazing chemistry.”
Throughout the postseason, Weafer has been one of Medfield’s best attacking options. The sophomore diced opponents up in all kinds of ways, determined to get back to the finals and lift the trophy.
“Devon can just pull a ball, run a screen, she can do anything and light up a goalie and she did tonight,” Lohan said of Weafer. “Devin off the field is a sophomore, Devin on the field is an experienced senior. She comes with composure, she comes with experienced playing at high levels and she wants this.
“She felt that pain last year when we lost. She was on this field and she didn’t want to feel it again as many of the other girls didn’t.”
Following Weafer’s goal, Medfield stayed in command of the contest and largely kept Nipmuc away from the net.
On a couple of tries from distance, Nipmuc missed just high, or struck the cross bar, but they couldn’t get anything to go past keeper Cate Rodenhi, and very little even reached her.
For the most part, the Medfield defense steered any dangerous play away and commanded the field any time a ball came their direction.
“I just knew that I could trust them,” Hoffman said of the defense. “I trust them with the ball anywhere on the field, and they’re just a wall back there. They stop everyone else.”
For Lohan, her team’s defense may have become under appreciated due to the high level of its attacking play.
On the season, Medfield allowed just 16 goals compared to 123 scored.
“Our offense has gotten a ton of press over the course of the year but our back line is really its own fortress,” Lohan said. “We haven’t had a lot of goals scored on us and it’s not just because the ball’s on the other side of the field. It’s because our defense puts it there and then our offense capitalizes on it.”
In the second half, Medfield continued to handle Nipmuc but in the latter stages, with the game still 1-0, the pressure heightened.
Because of what they’ve been able to do this season and the usual wide margins of their results, Medfield hasn’t been in many tight situations. Lohan however, wasn’t overly concerned.
Nipmuc found some dangerous free kicks in the closing minutes, but each time, Rodenhi was there to cut them off and keep the shutout.
“You talk a lot about these situations and even though we haven’t been able to create it in a lot of games, you create them a lot in practice,” Lohan said of the final few minutes of the contest. “You put them in those competitive situations so that they could be prepared for this moment and they just want this.
“They want this more than anything and they’ve earned it, and they’re so proud.”
After fending off Nipmuc, the final whistle sounded and relief swept through Medfield. That, and the knowledge that they were now state champions.
“It’s in my mind 24/7, every day, every week, just getting back on the field with this amazing group of girls, it’s unbelievable to do it,” Heavey said.
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