MEDWAY – No ghosts haunted the Belchertown boys soccer team at Hanlon field.
Losing last year’s MIAA Division 3 state final on the same surface had no bearing on this year’s state semifinal matchup against No. 2 Dedham for the third-seeded Orioles.
They fell 2-1 on Wednesday, ending the season in the same place but not with the same feeling.
“I don’t want to blame the field,” Belchertown senior captain Kaden Houle said. “I don’t want to blame anything.”
Belchertown (17-2-4) created enough chances in the second half. The Orioles just couldn’t convert any of them. A Jack Holt header sailed over the bar. A Trevor Weiss rip that was meant to be a pass back in skipped past both lines and just wide of the net. A Houle heaving throw-in rolled over every blade of turf on the six-yard box but never connected with a Belchertown foot or head.
“It just didn’t fall our way,” Holt said. “It’s just the game of soccer and it didn’t go our way.”
The Orioles have received their fair share of bounces this century, winning nine sectional titles and two state championships. They were playing for a third straight state final berth for the first time in program history. That possibility appeared far away after 15 minutes.
Dedham capitalized on confusion in Belchertown’s back line when Thomas Mullen reached a loose ball in the corner first and ripped a shot across the face of goal off the bottom of the cross bar and in.
It’s only the second time Belchertown has trailed this season.
The Orioles kept feeding Holt, and he evened the game with a cheeky chip 13 minutes later to tie it at 1.
“My job is getting in those dangerous positions. When I took that first touch it was a little bit ahead of me, so I had to chase it down and get that touch over him. It worked well. It paid off,” Holt said. “Wasn’t the easiest finish, but it was a good goal.”
Belchertown looked like a second was inevitable for the whole second half. The Orioles shoved the ball into Dedham’s penalty box over and over but could not pull ahead.
“They absolutely dominated the second 40 minutes there, and it’s one mistake, one miscommunication, that’s the game of soccer there,” Belchertown coach Zach Siano said.
In the 72nd minute, Dedham’s Juan Pablo Giraldo collected a Belchertown clearance that didn’t carry as far as it needed to then pumped a shot to the lower right corner for the game-winner.
Belchertown threw all of its numbers forward for a frantic final eight minutes. The Orioles generated multiple corners and put a bouncing ball into precarious positions, but the Marauders held on to reach the final. They’ll face No. 9 Newburyport at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Lynn for the Div. 3 title.
“The guys played as hard as they could, did everything they were supposed to do, and sometimes things don’t shake out the way that we want to,” Siano said. “Sadly that’s the situation we’re in. For us to get back to this spot for what’s supposed to be a quote unquote rebuilding year, those seniors put this team on their back. They did everything they were supposed to do, did things the right way. We played this game the right way, it just didn’t shake out on the scoreboard.”