Danvers’ date with history
DIV. 2 GIRLS SOCCER
FITCHBURG — After appearing in 27 straight girls soccer tournaments, Danvers finally embraced something new with its first state championship.
The Falcons (19-2-1) erased a late one-goal deficit before outlasting Medway 6-5 in penalty kicks for a 3-2 triumph in the Division 2 state final.
“We talked about it on the way up, we wanted this for us, but we also wanted it for everyone who has worn a blue-and-white jersey since Danvers has had a girls soccer program,” said coach Jim Hinchion following his team’s first championship.
Medway (17-3-2) jumped ahead in the 25th minute as Abigail Murphy toed a pass to Heather Scheid, sneaking her shot into the net.
Danvers battled back, scoring a minute later when Sacred Heartbound Hannah Lejeune notched her 29th goal of the year, collecting the rebound from her own penalty shot and sending it past Samantha Murray in the Medway net.
The Mustangs got in front again when Murphy nailed a free kick outside the box, tucking the shot past the dive of Mackenzie Gilmore. The momentum carried into the second half as the Mustangs clamped down defensively.
Danvers broke the stout wall in front of Murray, leveling the score with under five minutes left as Abigail Cash sent her pass to Riley Baker, who onetimed the volley home.
“We changed our tactics a little bit because we knew we were against the clock at that point. We knew we were going to have to stop trying to play the way we were used to and adapt,” said Hinchion.
Regulation expired, along with two 15-minute overtime sessions, with the score locked at 2-2.
The hero in overtime was Gilmore, who used an all-out effort to deny Scheid from her second goal on a one-on-one look — the best opportunity for either team in extra time.
The stop was the precursor of things to come for Gilmore as she turned away two shots in PKs. Lydia Runnals later sent the game-winning goal past Murray for the program’s most satisfying victory.
“It’s amazing that we can uphold a legacy and we can take it to the next level and be state champions. All of our hard work, all of our goals that we set for ourselves, they came true,” said Gilmore on the historic finish for Danvers.