Oh, my: Late Longmeadow goal sinks Masconomet
SHREWSBURY >> One storybook season has to come to an end for another to carry on this late in the postseason. In trying to avenge its heartbreak loss in the Div. 2 state semifinals last year, that ending came for topseeded Masconomet in the same round Wednesday night at David J. Adams Memorial Field in thrilling fashion.
Despite the Chieftains controlling much of the play in the second half of a tie game, fourth-seeded
Longmeadow extended longtime head coach Ann Simons’ final season at the helm off Roxanne Oh’s goahead goal with 1:38 left to play for a 2-1 field hockey win.
The final tally ended a chippy back-and-forth affair that saw each team defuse a bevy of offensive opportunities, highlighted by the Lancers’ withstanding of a Masconomet (18-1-3) offensive charge throughout the gross majority of the third quarter.
The Chieftains just couldn’t break through for that go-ahead goal. With nobody around her at the backside post, Oh did.
Riley Harrington assisted the goal and scored the other for the Lancers as they advance to the title game for the first time since 2019.
“I don’t like it about me but it’s a special team,” Simons said. “I stayed two extra years for them, so I’m so happy that they’re getting to the finals. I guess it’s fitting. … We didn’t play our best game today but we played hard. And they didn’t quit.”
While Harrington and Masconomet star Maggie
Sturgis traded goals in the second quarter, a defensive marathon was on for the entirety of the matchup. Maddi Wayland (eight saves) was excellent in net for the Chieftains, while the Lancers defense showed why they had 16 shutouts leading up to the game.
Wayland was tested early by the Longmeadow attack on five first-quarter corners. The Lancers just couldn’t get the ball out of their zone in the third quarter, but every Masconomet shot went wide or didn’t get past the last line of defense.
Physicality escalated as offensive tension started to sink in.
Simons called timeout midway through the fourth quarter as the Chieftains continued their relentless pressure. It proved dividends, enough to draw a corner with under two minutes to play.
Wayland stopped the first two shots, but Oh hugged the post. Riley found her for the score.
“It was a good shot, good angle,” Simons said. “It was going to come down to a little mistake and I guess we took advantage of it. It was a great shot. Great game.”
The Chieftains’ scoreless second half is a testament to the Longmeadow defense, especially with how potent their attack has been all year. It looked like they’d get the lead at sometime in the third quarter with how they controlled play, but just couldn’t finish.
“We were right there,” said Masconomet head coach Liz Dean. “Every single time it felt like we were just shooting away, fighting away. That’s all that I can ask for. As a coach, that’s all that you want to see is just the fight.”