Westborough 1, Algonquin 0 (2OT): Rangers boys soccer plows into CMass final
Just eight days ago, the Westborough and Algonquin boys soccer teams took to the pitch in a meaningless regular-season finale.
When the two talented CMass squads met Wednesday night, it was win or go home, as a spot in the Division 1 Central final was on the line.
After finishing regulation scoreless, neither team could find a winner in the first sudden-death overtime. In the second overtime, however, senior striker Jamie Plowman found the back of the net, as Westborough emerged with a hard-fought 1-0 semifinal victory at Nashoba Regional.
The top-seeded Rangers (16-1-3) will meet third-seeded Wachusett, which won on penalty kicks over Groton-Dunstable on Wednesday, for a sectional title on Saturday at Wachusett at 5 p.m.
The Tomahawks, who were seeded fifth, end their season 12-6-3.
"I can’t even describe how I feel right now," an ecstatic Plowman said. "You know, I just saw the ball take a deflection in the box and it came to me. I saw the opportunity and I took it. This is a huge win. I honestly thought they were the team that could possible knock us out.
"We knew coming in that this was going to be a hard game, but I didn’t expect it to be as hard as it was."
In the 95th minute, Westborough was awarded a throw-in in its attacking half.
Senior defender Daniel Feigelman launched a long throw into the box, where the ball took a deflection off an Algonquin defender and came to Plowman.
Plowman kneed the ball to himself before turning and firing a right-footed blast that beat Tomahawk senior goalie Liam McCarthy clean at the near post.
"What a huge win for our program," Rangers coach John Hillier said. "Very fortunate to come away with a victory here. Algonquin’s a great program and Ken (Morin, the Algonquin coach) does a great job with those guys. Jamie was able to finish and he’s been doing that all season for us. I guess the soccer gods were on our side tonight."
In both overtimes, Algonquin had its chances.
Just a minute before Plowman’s goal, Tomahawk senior forward Tyler Morin headed a cross over to Connor Duffy at the back post, but Duffy couldn’t connect on a close-range shot.
In the 92nd minute, senior midfielder Connor Henry floated a long diagonal pass to Duffy, who wiggled free of a defender and tried to poke the ball past sophomore goalie Griffin Barry, but Barry charged out of his net to cut down Duffy’s angle and make a big save.
The first extra session saw Henry let fly with a right-footed shot from 30 yards in the 87th minute, but Barry came up with a diving save to his right to keep the game scoreless.
"It all just comes down to my anticipation," Barry said. "I have to see the ball and then if I’m coming out of my net, like I did on that one in the second overtime, I just have to go for it. That’s the only way I can get out there. I can’t hesitate or have second thoughts or else they’re just going to put it past me."
Each team had its chances in regulation, but for the most part, the two squads were outstanding defensively, with Carter Reynolds, Sean VanDoren, Jake Pirdy, and Feigelman leading the way for Westborough, while Mike Wood and Mark Hatem stood out for the Tomahawks.
After all the Tomahawks’ late chances, the Rangers put it away.
"You know, the unfortunate part is you get three great chances and then they clear the ball down the field, get one shot, and it goes in the back of the net," Ken Morin said. "I guess that’s the difference at this time of the year. It’s whoever gets the break. We had more than enough chances in the second half and in the overtimes. It’s just unfortunate.
"That’s sort of been an issue for us all year. We either don’t put it in the back of the net or we don’t take the shots when we have them."
