Reale’s goal propels Hingham to Division 1 girls championship

WALPOLE >> After a tough defeat in last year’s state final contest, the Hingham girls soccer program took an approach to a new season with one goal in mind: get back and win it.

The second-ranked Harborwomen completed the task yesterday at Walpole High School, scoring early in the contest and playing air-tight defense to come away with a 1-0 victory in the Div. 1 title bout over No. 4 Algonquin.

The Harborwomen (180-4) got on the board in the 16th minute of the contest when junior Claire Murray cut the center of the pitch and fed a through ball to the top right corner of the box for a streaking Sophie Reale.

With a defender draped on her left shoulder, the AllAmerican senior launched it against the grain with her right foot, powering it through the hands of Algonquin keeper Keely Scott and beneath the crossbar, making it 1-0.

“If she gets an inch, and she can turn and have a shot … in my head I’m going, ‘shoot it one time,’ ” said first-year head coach Mary-Frances Monroe. “The ball was perfectly placed and she one-timed it and she drove it so hard it broke through.”

The goal by Reale, a UCLA commit, would hold up as the game-winner, propelling Hingham to its first state title in the history of the program.

“Especially after last year, coming this far and losing, it meant a lot for us this year to come out and finally win,” Reale said. “You’re not going to get many chances in a state championship like this, so you have to finish what you can get.”

The defense buckled down the rest of the way, not allowing a single shot on goal by Algonquin (161-6) throughout the entire match.

The backfield core was led by a pair of seniors, Maddie Aughe and Caroline Schiffman, and sophomore Grace Maroney, who kept the Titans to the perimeter, snuffing out any scoring chances from dangerous areas.

The Harborwomen wanted to finish the job this time around after getting so close the season prior, losing to Natick in the final.

“They were very motivated,” said Monroe. “We kept saying we’re a different team. When we got here today we knew we wanted to take it home this year. They stayed plugged in for every single practice, I’m so proud of them.”