MARSHFIELD— The St. Mary’s boys soccer team built its 2018 roster for a run at a state championship. Now the Spartans are one win away from reaching that goal.
Thiago DeOliveira celebrated his 18th birthday with two goals and the Spartans defeated Cohasset, 3-2, in Wednesday’s Division 4 state semifinal at Marshfield High. The Spartans advanced to Saturday’s state final against Bromfield at Worcester State (TBA).
“Thiago definitely played great today,” St. Mary’s coach Mike D’Agostino said. “It was his best game of the year. For the birthday boy, it was well deserved.”
Olu George added one goal and Matt Connolly dished one assist. Goalie Matt Gallego made 11 saves.
St. Mary’s dominated with an aggressive attack through the game’s first 14 minutes. The Spartans maintained possession and kept the Skippers away from Gallego. But that changed when Cohasset logged its first shot on goal and the Skippers made the most of it. Michael McDougald picked up a blocked kick and tipped it into the net to give the Skippers a 1-0 lead with 25:30 remaining in the first half.
“We were down in the last game (2-1 win over Mystic Valley in sectional final) too,” D’Agostino said. “We settled down and played our game. Right off the bat, I thought we dominated possession. We had our shots. Again, just like the Mystic Valley game, we put some shots over frame. We started to calm down and play our game of attack.”
That’s how things stayed until the Spartans scored twice in the final 11 minutes of the period. George found a rebound and put St. Mary’s on the board with a header with 10:55 remaining in the half.
“Olu’s been a little bit banged-up this season,” D’Agostino said. “We put him in a big spot and he did what he needed to do. That’s what he does. He’s our leading goal scorer. Olu stepped up great with the first goal and that started the momentum for us.”
DeOliveira gave the Spartans the lead with seconds left when he scored off Connolly’s corner. St. Mary’s led, 2-1, at halftime.
The Spartans’ aggressiveness carried over to the beginning of the second half. They drew a penalty kick seven minutes into the period and DeOliveira, who takes the majority of the PKs for the Spartans, cashed in to stretch the lead to 3-1.
DeOliveira said the Spartans didn’t panic when they were down, 1-0, and the win was an ideal birthday gift.
“We knew with the ability we have that we can come back from any deficit,” he said. “We just kept working hard. We got two goals in the first half and we kept going. This was a great birthday gift.”
Cohasset didn’t take long to crawl back in. Jack Simmons put McDougald’s assist in the net with 28:17 to play, making it a one-goal game at 3-2.
Gallego and the Spartans were tested with a few corner kicks the rest of the way but St. Mary’s defense didn’t break. St. Mary’s held on to advance to Saturday’s state final.
“It feels great,” D’Agostino said. “The 10 seniors I have, six or seven of them went to the state final when they were freshmen (in 2015). We made it all the way against Monson. I think it’s definitely time for them to win a state championship. It’s been many years since St. Mary’s has won one. This is a great program. We have great seniors. They’ve given me their hearts and souls and that’s all I can ask from them.”
