On Wednesday night, the Hingham Boys Soccer Team (15-2-1) kicked off the MIAA playoffs with a convincing 1 – 0 win over Nashoba Regional High School (9-8-1). Highlighting the score sheet was Senior Matty Cummings with the games only goal in the 38th minute. However, the thin margin of victory did not illustrate Hingham’s dominant first round performance
From the opening whistle Hingham was on the attack, putting pressure on Nashoba with crisp passing. However, Nashoba’s skilled centerbacks limited the Hingham strikers from getting open looks on the goal early on, keeping the game knotted in a scoreless tie for most of the first half.
A few offensive mistakes prevented Hingham from getting on the scoreboard until the 38th minute when a flurry of deflected shots exposed the goal enough for senior Matty Cummings to place a well directed header into the back of the net to give Hingham the 1-0 lead.
(Hunter Gale)
Hingham closed out the half without any serious threats from Nashoba, conceding only one shot on goal from a deep, free kick near midfield. Hingham’s aggressiveness towards attacking fifty-fifty balls in the midfield was a noticeable bright spot during the first forty minutes. Their tackles were well-timed and as a result they prevented Nashoba from establishing any substantial possession of the ball in the first half.
Hingham kept their foot on the gas in the second half with a volley from senior captain Adam Healey just barely missing the left post early into the frame. Later on a well placed shot from senior Luke Ackerman glanced off of the crossbar in the 59th minute just inches away from extending their lead to two goals. “I think our team has just been really good at scoring an early goal and then controlling the game,” said sophomore Sean Christofferson, in reaction to the state of the game. “We can possess the ball really well which makes it really difficult for the other team to score.”
Despite knocking on the door the whole game, Nashoba’s back line once again kept the game close as Hingham was unable to convert any other opportunities in the second half. However, Hingham’s defense continued to step up in a big way, limiting any explosive opportunities for Nashoba, keeping the opposition until the end of regulation.
Hingham outshot Nashoba ten attempts to three, and dominated the scoresheet in all trackable categories from possession time to number of corner kicks. After the game when asked about his team’s performance, Cummings said, “The competition will definitely get harder from now on, but if we keep playing our game we can win the championship” The boys look to keep the playoff run going with an afternoon home game against Milton on Saturday, November 9th.
UPDATE: Hingham defeated Milton 2 – 0 on Saturday. They play on Thursday against Minnechaug at Hingham High School.
