MARSHFIELD, Mass. - Concord-Carlisle scored 10 minutes into the second half and the Patriots survived a last second surge to beat Oliver Ames, 1-0, in the D2 State Finals.
The Tigers were not only able to keep the Patriots - who are nationally ranked in the top ten by the NSCAA - off the scoreboard in the first half, they were able to play evenly with Concord-Carlisle.
“I think we gave them a very good game,” Oliver Ames head coach John Barata said. “They’re an excellent team all around. In the first half, I think we surprised them by playing. I don’t think everyone comes out and plays with them, I think teams try to relax and let them come at them. But we played and we went back and forth and we created incredible chances early on.”
The first 15 minutes belonged to the Patriots, with chances coming in the 3rd, 9th and 12th minutes. On Concord-Carlisle’s first chance, OA’s clearance bounced off the ref but Lior Selve’s shot was right at OA goalie Tim Andrew.
The next two were much more difficult saves from Andrew. Mitchell Palmer released a low shot to the low far post corner, but Andrew dove to his right for the save. Just three minutes later, Charlie Booth had his shot knocked away by a one-handed save from Andrew.
The final 25 minutes belonged to the Tigers. In the 17th minute, OA senior Brandon Boone backtracked and stole the ball of a Patriot defender. He took a couple touches towards goal but his shot sailed just wide at the far post.
Just a minute later, freshman Cam Vella fed Boone, who dropped the ball off to junior Keegan Nutt. Nutt faked a shot, took a touch and ripped a left-footed shot just over the bar, forcing a timeout for Concord-Carlisle. The Tigers kept up their pressure and with just over two minutes to play in the first half, Nutt had a rip from the corner of the area that just went wide at the near post.
The second half on the other hand, belonged to Concord-Carlisle. The Patriots came out very fast paced and aggressive and pushed the tempo of the game. Just 30 seconds into the second frame, Concord-Carlisle had a corner from Patrick O’Brien bounce twice in the area before Andrew Verrilli’s attempt sailed high.
Just a minute later, Selve was sprung into space behind the defense but as he approached the goal, Andrew came charging out and got just enough of the shot to knock it down and cover it up.
In the 50th minute, a long throw from CC’s Julian Feshbach-Meriney found the head of Andrew Verily for a slight flick to the feet of Selve, who hit a shot to the bottom corner at the fast post to give the Patriots the lead.
“The first half I think was pretty even, if not I would give to us, but the second half they blew us out,” Barata said. “They came out very fast. very aggressive. Their senior leadership really showed and they started to ping the ball into the middle and find that forward and we were having a tough time controlling it. We weren’t out of the game it was just they took more control of it.”
Oliver Ames began to push in the final minutes. In the 70th minute, Boone and Vella combined on a nifty 1-2 that resulted in the ball at Boone’s feet, but his shot was knocked down and covered up by CC goalie Bryce Talbot-Dion.
In the final minute of play, sophomore Thomas McCormick hit a shot from 35 yards out that looked to be headed into the upper 90 at the near post,but Talbot-Dion got just enough of the ball to tip it over for a corner. In the final seconds, OA packed the box on the corner, but the Patriots were able to clear it to seal the win.
“Honestly, I’m very happy with the performance,” Barata said. “To play Concord-Carlisle to a 1-0 game, could it have been two or three, sure but we could have had two or three as well so it was a good game for us.”
It was a special run for the Tigers, who finished second in the Davenport Division after graduating 13 seniors from last year’s team - nine of which were starters and one All-American.
"We had played Oliver Ames in the preseason and John did an unbelievable job with these guys," Concord-Carlisle head coach Ray Pavlik said. "The difference between the team that we saw tonight and the team that we saw in preseason was incredible. They pushed us."
Oliver Ames finishes 13-6-2.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.