Hanover nips Dedham in Div. 3 girls soccer final
LYNN >> One wasn’t the loneliest number for the Hanover girls on Saturday in the Div. 3 state soccer final at Manning Field. In fact, it proved to be the luckiest.
Sophia Foley scored early in the second half for the Hawks, who then survived a hit crossbar and a missed penalty kick by Dedham inside the final five minutes to claim their first state title since 2000 with their third straight 1-0 win in the tournament.
“It really was a great game,” Hanover coach Mary Cullity said. “The first half was all about getting the nerves out and hanging on. I thought in the second half we looked like we relaxed and we were able to find success.”
After a defensive-minded first half that saw the teams head to the break scoreless, business picked up right from the opening kick of the second 40 minutes.
The Hawks (19-3-1) came out flying and put plenty of heat on Dedham’s (17-4-1) defense. The dam held into the 47th minute when Hanover’s Eva Kelleher got away from her mark and fed a perfect pass to Foley in space and the league MVP made no mistake with
a quick shot inside the right post.
That goal was a wakeup call for the Dedham offense, which began to crank up some pressure of its own but couldn’t find the mark
against the Hawks’ tough defense.
With time ticking down, Dedham got a free kick but the shot rang off the crossbar. Moments later, a foul was called in the box, giving
Dedham a final chance to tie with 30 seconds left.
Abbey Keyes took the PK but the shot skittered just wide of the right post, allowing Hanover to run off the final seconds.