WOBURN – After falling in the Division I state semifinals in overtime last season, No. 4 Natick girls soccer wasn’t going to let history repeat itself Tuesday night.
Facing No. 8 Belmont, the Redhawks attacked early and often, never letting their feet off the gas and they were rewarded with a 5-0 win.
“We haven’t truly processed it, but it’s unreal,” Natick co-head coach Denise Trubiano said. “Last year we thought we would go to the championship and we didn’t. It was heartbreaking. But this year, this group is such a special group and we are so happy for them and it is an unbelievable feeling.”
After the disappointment of last year’s defeat and the amount of roster turnover on this year’s team, neither of Natick’s head coaches could immediately believe what they saw.
“To come out in a game at this level and this stage and put it away five nothing is just unbelievable,” co-head coach Kari-Ann Daley said.
The Redhawks got their first goal in the 19th minute thanks to sophomore Kerrington Sheriff. From there, Natick knew they had to press on.
“We need to have shots on net, we need to fight to the end,” Sheriff said. “They can definitely get goals in the end so we need to keep going to the end.”
Much of their mindset came down to the team’s failures earlier in the season, staring down deficits and leaving their fates up to the final minutes of play.
“All season long we’ve been a second half team where we haven’t really come out as strong as we wanted to in the first half, and we’ve left in to the second half,” Redhawk captain Abby McCauley said. “We knew with a talented Belmont team that we had to come out straight from the bat because everyone wants to give it their all.
“So we just had that mindset that we had to start strong and once we scored one, we needed another.”
Nine minutes after Sheriff gave her side the lead, the sophomore added another, this time blasting a rocket across the net from the right side.
“We talk all the time about crashing the net, crashing the net, and Kerrington is someone who will listen and do everything in her power to deliver what we’re asking for,” Trubiano said. “She’s really honed that skill.
“And her shot she took from the outside, beautiful, gorgeous. She does whatever we ask of her and whatever the team needs of her.”
Though they were up 2-0 nearing halftime, the Redhawks still weren’t done with their scoring. In the 39th minute, McCauley scored one herself to make it 3-0 for Natick.
For the Redhawk coaches, the danger of their attack comes from not just one player, but the collective talent of their forwards and midfielders.
“I just think that we have so many weapons, you can’t double and triple team everybody,” Daley said. “So if you’re doubling Nicole (Proia), you’re tripling Nicole, then you’ve got little Emilia (Sousa) and then you got Kerrington knocking ones in. You have (Maddie) Bonner off the bench, you have Abby and Lydia (Proia), so we really have a lot of weapons and you just can’t double everybody.”
On the defensive side, the Redhawks didn’t allow much to the Marauders. Like their attacking play, their stellar play out of possession is a full team effort.
“I think our defense has done an amazing job all season of just never letting them by but they had a very talented striker today so were knew that it wasn’t just going to take our defense, it was going to take everyone, our midfield, our forwards, everyone, dropping back,” McCauley said. “I think our offensive players did a great job hustling back when someone lost the ball. We were all in it together and just kind of fighting and helping each other out.”
Whenever a Belmont player got in a dangerous position, Natick goalkeeper Katie McMahon was there to make a save, stopping all three shots she faced in the first half, and knocking away several corner attempts.
“She was huge tonight and I think those first few saves and the first time she got her hands on the ball, I think that also gave a lot of confidence to our defense who then didn’t drop back and play too defensively,” Trubiano said of McMahon. “She was a key part of this win today.”
In the second half McMahon got more action but didn’t falter. The senior stopped all six shots she saw, again impressing defending corners.
“She’s incredible, she’s so clutch,” McCauley said of McMahon. “The saves that she makes on her corner kicks, she just punches it out. I don’t know how she gets that height but it’s insane.”
With McMahon holding things down defensively, Natick continued their aggressive play on the attacking end.
Though they kept the shots flying, it took some time for the Redhawks to add to their lead in the second half. Natick however, made sure to put the game out of reach. In the 76th minute, Maddie Bonner knocked in a rebound to make it 4-0 and two minutes later, Nicole Proia ended things with a goal of her own.
With the 5-0 victory, the Redhawks secured their first trip to the state finals since they won it all in 2023. They will find out their opponent later Tuesday night with Concord-Carlisle and Franklin facing off at 7 p.m. in Leominster.
Who they face in the finals will help Natick determine their lineup for Saturday’s contest, primarily who will start in net, McMahon, or fellow senior Liesl Niedermeyer who split time with McMahon all season long.
“I think what we have to do is see who wins tonight and see who we’re matched up against,” Trubiano said. “We played Franklin earlier in the season and I don’t think either team was at their best. I think the second half of the season both Franklin and Natick, figured out who we were and how we play.
“Then Concord-Carlisle has an outstanding number one player so I think it’s really just a matter of who we play and how we want to start the game.”
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