For the first time in 15 years, Oliver Ames girls soccer is bound for state-title game

MANSFIELD — Year-in and year-out, the Oliver Ames High girls soccer team has found itself battling the state’s best for postseason supremacy.

However the last time it qualified for the championship game was 2007.

Until now, that is.

The top-seeded Tigers (16-3-1) escaped the state semifinals with a double-overtime, 1-0, win over No. 5 Grafton (16-1-2) Tuesday night to earn a date with No. 10 Silver Lake (11-3-8) in the Div. 2 state title game on Saturday (time/location TBD). 

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“It’s really awesome – oh my gosh. I love the team,” sophomore Emma Gavin said with a smile, standing near the team bus rocking in celebration. “I never really expected this.”

What she didn’t expect was that after 95 minutes of rigorous, defensive warfare, the OA offense would go on a rush undisturbed by a host of smothering Grafton defenders. But senior Jenna Gilman pushed it up the left side and laid a well-placed cross on Gavin’s boot to deliver the winner inside the 5:00 mark of double-OT.

“I was kind of scared that I was going to shank it because it was such a perfect cross. Jenna made such an amazing cross and it was wide open,” Gavin chuckled. “I’m glad I didn’t.”

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It was Gavin’s third goal of the tournament, and 10th overall on the season, according to HockomockSports.com. 

“Emma ‘Big Game’ Gavin,” longtime OA head coach Britt Sellmayer praised. “This girl runs from 18-(yard line) to 18. She does everything for us in the middle of the field.”

The winning-play was preceded by, unquestionably, the play of OA’s season thus far as sophomore goalkeeper Janiya Matier’s seventh save of the night indescribably wiped away a missile from Grafton’s Olivia Campbell that came in blistering high to the right side.

Matier recovered moments later to dismiss a shot on a corner-kick attempt, preserving the clean sheet with seven minutes left in the second overtime.

Gavin couldn’t believe it. “Oh my gosh, that was insane,” she said. “She got like a foot of air.”

Matier couldn’t believe it either. “(I’m) just always making sure I’m paying attention in practice and being who I am,” Matier said. “I don’t know — I’m just happy to be here. (The sequence), really, was crazy. I didn’t expect to get it. It’s just practice, just keep on practicing and never giving up.”

With a laugh, Matier added that she saw Gavin’s goal from the other side of the field and reacted similarly, though she was still blinded by the jolt of her previous defensive stand.

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“I was so distracted by that save. We got down(field), I looked and we scored and I was like ‘Oh my goodness,” Matier said. “Hard work just pays off, it definitely pays off. And we’ve been working very hard this whole season. We definitely earned this and deserve it.”

The Tigers debuted with a 2-0 road loss to Franklin on Sept. 9, but then 10-game winning streak featuring triumphs over Stoughton, King Philip, Marshfield, Attleboro and Canton sprouted, and it ran until a 0-0 draw the rematch against Stoughton on Oct. 14. The Tigers earned the top spot in Div. 2 with a 12-3-1 regular season record and strength-of-schedule metric of 2.2887, tops among the five highest-ranked seeds in the bracket.

"We lost our first game to Franklin, then we won a couple games. I said, 'Hey, we could be pretty good.' "We came to practice every day. Are we contenders or pretenders?" Sellmayer recalled asking his team the question.

Tuesday, he confirmed it. "We’re contenders."

“We definitely get along really well. That’s definitely a big part of it," Matier said. "We know how to talk to each other and not get angry at each other. We just know how to work together. It’s always been there from the start but we’ve gotten so much closer throughout the season. We’re just good for each other.”

On Tuesday, the OA attack -- a rather opportunistic bunch all season long, with 2.89 goals per game (including the playoffs) -- was met with the defensive dynamo of Grafton's Caity Tyldesley, CJ McCarthy, Elle Bristol, Bridgett Kennedy and Abby Zheng which stunted each attempt of an offensive push all throughout the first half, as OA didn't attempt a corner kick through the first 40 minutes.

The Grafton group also stood tall late in regulation as it stunted four corner kicks and two free kicks, all opportunities in which OA had a window to tack on a decisive late tally.

“They played unbelievable. I mean, that was the No. 1 seed. To hold them to one that late, it was a great run," Grafton head coach Matt Bazinet said. "Tough game. They played awesome, both teams.”

“It’s playoff soccer. You’re getting towards the end with the better teams," Sellmayer said. "That’s (Grafton’s) first loss and they’ve played like 20 games this year. They play good soccer, they knock the ball around. But we just hung in there, worked hard and the girls showed a lot of resilience.”

Headlined by seniors Molly Capece, Catie Wilson, Sophia Byron and Taylor deVos, the back line for Oliver Ames held tough as well to shield Matier from seeing too much action throughout the second half of regulation and first OT. Senior midfielder Mary Cross also pitched in to the defensive battle.

 “My back four, they held on. Molly Capece, Catie Wilson, they’re not year-round soccer players. They’re kids that show up in August. They did a great job on the outside," said Sellmayer. "And Sophia Byron and Taylor deVos, our center backs, they just did enough. They’re super, super players.”

With 2007 being the last time OA advancing to the state title game (a 2-0 win over Central champ Millbury), the team also made close attempts with losses in the South Sectional finals in 2008, 2011 and 2012. Last year, the Tigers (then the No. 2 seed) were bounced by No. 15 Westwood, 1-0, in the Round of 16.

“We’re super excited to be here," Gavin said of the upcoming matchup against No. 10 Silver Lake. "We know it’ll be a tough game, but we’re ready to bring it.”

Loss marks the year end for Grafton

Tuesday's loss marks the end of the Gators' unbeaten run (19-0-2), one game shy of the state title game.

The defensive unit that gave Oliver Ames trouble in the loss posted 15 shutouts on the season as the team bids farewell to eight seniors: Julianna Coveney, Maya Dalan, Sommer Barnhill, Nicole Dupuis, Abby Zheng, Bridget Kennedy, Giana DeBaradinis and keeper Shyla Kulesza.

“I told them to just keep their heads up. I mean, there’s nothing to hang their heads about. It was a great season through-and-through," said Bazinet. "They took the No. 1 seed (tied) until about four minutes left so can’t be too upset about that. It was a great battle the whole time.”