Perfect Pembroke years in making
How does a small town with a population of 18,000 people and no substantial pedigree become a high school soccer juggernaut?
Pembroke boys’ coach Adam Scott has a few ideas.
“It all starts with a culture that kids want to play in,” said Scott. “It focuses on loving the game but also having a high standard where we’re trying to achieve our goals. And luckily this year’s team has [a] bunch of all-in soccer players.”
In his eighth season, Scott has helped transform Pembroke from a Patriot League middler into a state title contender. The Titans don’t have enough players in the program to form a freshman team. And only 39 players tried out this fall. None of that has mattered.
Pembroke (15-0-0) enters the final week of the regular season as one of three teams in the state (along with Newburyport and Oakmont) to win every game this fall. They boast a sterling 66-6 goal differential and have yet to play a match decided by fewer than two goals.
The result is the No. 1 spot in the latest Division 3 power rankings and the makings of the best season in school history.
“We’re a close group,” said senior captain Ethan Sullivan. “We hang out on the weekends, watch the Premier League, play FIFA together, we basically do everything together. It’s a really strong bond.”
Like many teams in high school sports who post a magical season, Pembroke has been building toward this moment. After navigating through the COVID-shortened 2020 season, the Titans won the final 13 games of the regular season last fall, only to be dealt a heartbreaking defeat by Stoneham in the second round of the tournament.
But with 19 players returning, the veteran side attacked the offseason with vengeance and is treating this campaign with a tour-de-force attitude. The difference this year is they expect to win every game.
“We’ve gone in hungry every single game,” said senior Declan Crowley. “That was our goal. We have very high expectations. It’s a really good feeling to keep winning and it’s serving as motivation. The level of success is raising the tempo of the team.”
Scott, a soccer lifer who played at Weymouth High and also runs the New England Premiership club program, believes talent and chemistry equal success. You can’t win with one and without the other. He feels this team has both.
The majority of Pembroke’s nucleus has played together since they were kids. That connection is evident between the team’s two best players, Sullivan and Crowley. They have been best friends since they were kids and their families are so close they call each other’s parents “aunt” and “uncle.”
On the field, the Sullivan-Crowley connection is commonplace. The two attacking engines have combined for 24 goals and 32 assists, nearly half of the team’s production.
“We’ve built a certain bond and chemistry where we understand each other’s play and where we’re going to be on the field,” said Crowley.
Another senior, Andrew Gleason ,is the third pillar of the offense with 10 goals and 11 assists. Behind them is a strong supporting cast of Wil McManus (10 goals), brothers Owen and Ben Kane, keeper Jack Taylor, and Declan’s younger brother Shane, who returned to Pembroke this fall after playing academy.
Scott understands the level of commitment from his team. He pushes them in training, but they respond with detailed-oriented film sessions in which players have conversations with the coaching staff about tactical advantages they see. He also lets them make suggestions during halftime and timeouts.
“They are able to adjust on the fly and are great at making suggestions to us,” said Scott. “They see things that I don’t and that’s awesome to have.”
Scott compares this team with last year’s Norwell squad, which featured a slew of seniors that experienced previous postseason shortcomings, but rallied to go 21-0-2 and win the D3 title.
He believes his Titans have the right formula in place for a deep run that ends in hardware. Scott previously guided Pembroke to its first sectional final in 2017. But the stakes and goals are higher this year.
The key is to take it one game at a time, especially now that everyone is trying to chase down Pembroke for a change.
“It means everything to us,” said Scott. “We’ve always been looking up at the Silver Lakes and the Hinghams. But we’ve always wanted to be great, too. It has nothing to do with me though. It’s all about the boys.”
Corner kicks
■ Coach Shawn Bleau has his most talented team in his 13 years at Newburyport.
One of the two unbeaten teams in Eastern Mass, the Clippers boast a 150-0 record and a 50-3 goal differential.
“We have a great senior class,” said Bleau. “We start 11 seniors right now. Our first sub off the bench is a senior. I’ve never had that before.”
Those seniors have played together since their youth days, mentoring the next generation by coaching in the spring and summer for kids. Five are captains.
Kellan McDermott (center back) and Owen Tahnk (goalkeeper) excel at anchoring the defensive third. Jamie Brooks, a Cape Ann hockey all-star in goal, can play both up top and in the midfield and Will Acquaviva, a returning league all-star, provides speed on the left wing. Henry Acton controls the game in central midfield.
“You’re not going to be able to take one thing away,” said Bleau. “This is the most depth I’ve ever had on a team, by far. From top to bottom, our subs, our bench, our outside backs. It adds an extra dimension.”
■ Hingham coach Ken Carlin won his 300th game in a 1-0 Patriot League Keenan Division victory over Plymouth North. The 23-year coach was the EMass Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2005 and 2021.