July 6, 2022 Submitted by Sean Downey
Over the weekend of June 24-26 two Hingham Youth Soccer teams advanced all the way to the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) Final Four. MTOC is a tournament that is truly the best of the best, with more than 250 towns across 10 leagues vying for 12 spots in each age group. For the first time in recent memory – if not in Hingham program history – the Boys Grade 5/6 and the Boys Grade 7/8 teams each fought their way through Division 1 pool play before ultimately falling in the semi-finals.
The Boys Grade 7/8 team was nearly flawless all season long – suffering zero defeats and only a few draws over the course of the Fall 2021 and the Spring 2022 season. The core group of the team has been playing together for years and outscored their opponents by a 32-5 margin this spring.
In the Coastal League Finals the week before MTOC, Hingham dispatched of Norwell 2-0 in a game typical of the team’s play all season – flawless execution, unselfish play and in complete control of the game.
In MTOC play, the team faced major adversity with injuries and a short (or no) bench but still managed to advance through pool play to the semi-finals. There they ran up against the defending state champ in Natick and fought valiantly despite playing down a player at times during the game.
Bottom Row (l-r) - William Connelly, Jack Monroe, Jake Lopes, Ryan Murtagh, Luca Greco, Spencer Coppola, Ethan Theis
The Boys Grade 5/6 team was near the top of the table for the Coastal Youth Soccer League in a long season that spanned the Fall 2021 and the Spring 2022. Battling through injuries, multi-sports conflicts and games over vacation weeks, the boys several times pulled out wins with no subs available on the sideline.
Tough competition in the Coastal league left no margin for error and the team came through over the final month knowing a single loss would have eliminated them from the playoffs. After celebrating a post season clinching win against Norwell on the final day of the season, the team then turned around to knock off Pembroke in the Coastal League Finals.
The Hingham team won 2 of 3 games in pool play, and had a few opposing coaches saying they were a team they didn’t want to face. Despite the 3-1 loss in the semi-final game, the Hingham team showed they belonged outscoring their opponents 12-6 in the heat over the weekend.
