Lynnfield’s Kennedy is simply a scoring machine

If you went to the Lynnfield boys soccer team following their dismal loss to Hamilton-Wenham in the penultimate game of the regular season and told the players they had a chance to play in the Division 3 state title game for a second straight season, there’s a pretty good chance you’d have gotten a dirty look.Yet when the Division 3 North tournament kicked off a week ago, the Pioneers suddenly found their game and steamrolled past Marian, Weston, Bishop Fenwick and Greater Lowell to a second straight sectional crown.The common thread in those wins? The outstanding play of senior forward Mike Kennedy, who had eight goals in the four wins.”He’s been awesome,” Lynnfield coach Brent Munroe said. “And he’s peaking at the right time. The kids have gotten him the ball in good spots and he’s more relaxed because he has more time to shoot.”But Kennedy save arguably his best game for Wednesday’s Eastern Mass final at Cawley Stadium against East Bridgewater.The Vikings physical defense tried its best to take the Pioneers out of their rhythm, but Kennedy was still able to find holes and torch the South champs for a hat trick in a 3-2 win that wasn’t as close as the score indicated.The Pioneers will take on multi-time state champion Bromfield today (1:30) at Cawley for the title.”It’s really been unbelievable,” Kennedy said. “The reality now is that any game could be the last and me and the other captains have been telling the younger guys that.’Scoring 11 goals in five games would seemingly be nothing for a player who had 37 during the regular season, but according to Munroe, Kennedy’s elevated play has come at the right time.”Sometimes this year, he would come in on a breakaway and would probably blast the ball over the bar or at the keeper,” Munroe said. “But he was so relaxed (Wednesday) that he was getting the ball in the corners. There is definitely a difference now about where he’s receiving the ball.”This tournament run is the cap for a season that has seen Kennedy blow away every scoring record on the books at Lynnfield.Kennedy broke the all-time point scoring record early in the season and has simply annihilated the old goal scoring mark of 47 in just the last two seasons where he’s found the mark 63 times.”Our league (Cape Ann) is so competitive that it’s even more impressive to have done it now,” Munroe said.Early on in his career, however, Kennedy played more of a secondary role, as he was the set-up man for his older brother, Rob, for two seasons.”He was more of the scorer and I was the one who set him up,” Kennedy said.But with his brother’s graduation last year, the mantle was passed to the younger Kennedy and he took it and ran with it.All he did was put 24 goals on the board to help lead an experienced team to the North title over Ipswich and a shoot out win vs. Old Rochester in the EMass finals.But when the Pioneer express traveled to Mahoney Field in Westboro, the dream died as Bartlett’s Brian Henderson (now at Temple) scored on a free kick with 15 seconds left in regulation for a 1-0 win.And it’s that image of the Western Mass champions celebrating that has been a driving force for Kennedy and company in this tournament.”We have some unfinished business,” Kennedy said. “We know how it feels to be on the losing side and don’t want that again.”No matter the outcome against Bromfield, Kennedy will be on to an even bigger stage come September as he is set to attend Northeastern on a full scholarship.”I never thought that I would have a chance to play at a school like that,” Kennedy said. “This summer was busy with recruiting and it was nerve-wracking.”Kennedy’s decision came down to Boston College and the Huskies, but when he toured the NU campus on Huntington Avenue, Kennedy was hooked.”I wanted to get it out of the way and I knew as soon as I took my visit there that it was where I wanted to be,” Kennedy said.Playing at the Division 1 level will be tough, but Munroe knows his star has a chance to succeed.”His competitiv