LYNN – Despite falling behind in the first 10 minutes against No. 13 Concord-Carlisle, No. 1 seeded St. John’s Prep boys soccer wasn’t concerned about its fate in Monday night’s Division I state semifinal.
All season long the Eagles have been tested, most often by their own teammates in practice.
“I had no worries at all,” Prep senior captain Finn McCabe said. “In practice we usually do the starting lineup against the scout team and we go down all the time. We got a really deep roster so I wasn’t worried at all.
“Also last year we were in the same situation, we went down early so most of our gigs have been there, we weren’t worried at all.”
Thanks to goals from McCabe and three others, the Eagles erased their early deficit and beat the Patriots 4-2 to advance to their first title game since 2022.
“Being together, having a community, really just building trust within the squad, I’m so proud of the boys,” McCabe said. “We’ve been emphasizing grit and hard work all season and it shows tonight. I’m really proud of the boys.”
Though the Patriots got the first goal of the contest thanks to Ben Hackman in the 10th minute, the Eagles dominated play in the first half.
Though not everything was right on target, Prep got plenty of looks in the opening frame, sending off 15 shots, many of which missed by just a few feet
“Once we started creating all those chances in the first half, I knew it was only a matter of time before we were going to break them down and we were going to score,” Crowell said. “We have too much quality not to start putting the ball in the back of the net again.”
In the 23rd minute, it was McCabe who equalized things for Prep, tapping in a shot that deflected to him following a corner.
“We limited their chances in the first and and once Finn just passed that into the back of the net instead of trying to blast it back to Danvers, I thought we’d be okay,” Crowell said.
McCabe didn’t just deliver the tying goal on Monday. After the contest, Crowell awarded McCabe with the team’s Golden Boot, their award for the best performance of the night.
“Finn went all 80, Finn goes all 80 every game,” Crowell said. “He’s our anchor, he’s the guy who keeps everybody grounded and solid. He wins so many 50/50 balls, transitions the ball well.”
Though the two teams entered halftime tied 1-1, the Eagles were sure another goal was coming soon.
After taking some time to settle things down, Prep was able to hone their finishing a bit more and pounce on Concord-Carlisle.
In the 45th minute, the Eagles took advantage of another corner. This time it was James Minor’s turn to strike and give his team a 2-1 lead.
15 minutes later, Prep was still holding Concord-Carlisle to the fire and allowing little wiggle room.
In the 60th minute, Mike Hutchinson found himself with the ball just outside the box and after a run from a teammate opened a lane, he quickly cut in and fired away, giving his team a 3-1 advantage.
“You knew the minute he got that ball he was shooting, never even thought about passing,” Crowell said of Hutchinson. “He had all the confidence in the world.”
Despite a two-goal lead, Crowell didn’t have any intention of changing his team’s mentality with 20 minutes to go.
“I know all the analytics and everything say to go into a shell but I just figure if we’re carrying the play like we’re carrying the play, why change things,” Crowell said.
For Hutchinson, the continued aggressiveness is something that bleeds down to every player on the roster. It’s about the expectation they want to set on the field.
“It’s what we all bring to the game, we don’t want to just be that team that’s boring to watch,” Hutchinson said. “We want to be that team where we have people cheering us on and people excited to come and watch our games.”
Knowing the desire to extend the lead even further, Garrison Murphy decided it was his turn to get in on the fun. After creating alleys for his teammates all night long simply due to the attention he garners from his opponents, the senior took one touch on a cross from Owen Beeny before firing the ball into the back of the net.
“He’s an all-American and you could see that today,” Crowell said of Murphy. “He did score a goal, but even if he doesn’t, so much of the defense is dragged to him. And his ability to hold the ball when he’s got guys draped all over him.
“He’s taking punts down with his foot while he’s got a 6’2 guys draped over his back. There’s not many high school kids that can do that.”
After Murphy’s goal, Concord-Carlisle tacked on a second goal from Max Hepworth but it was too late. The Eagles were able to hold things together the rest of the way to secure their 4-2 victory.
Next, the Eagles will head to the stands on Tuesday to find out who they will face in Saturday’s state final. They will be watching No. 2 Natick and No. 3 Newton South face off at 7 p.m. at Woburn High School.
Regardless of who takes that contest, Crowell intends on playing his game.
“Our philosophy is teams have to adjust to us, and we made them adjust to us tonight and we’ll hopefully do that on Saturday,” Crowell said. “I don’t have a preference, but I guess Natick has a kid that’s an All-American so that would be kind of fun. Two All-Americans going at it.”
For Prep’s seniors, regardless of the opponent or the result on Saturday, it will be their final match for the Eagles.
“I’m just gonna try to emphasize to the boys just enjoy it,” McCabe said. “We have 15, 16, 17 seniors and I just want them all to enjoy it. They’ve worked so hard all year, all four years actually through the program and they deserve it more than anyone.”
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