Xaverian wins thriller over BC High in soccer

WESTWOOD — As his teammate Lars Forsgren prepared for a throw-in, a million thoughts raced through Finn Mungovan’s mind, all surrounding his dream of scoring a potential game-winning goal in the state playoffs.

Based on what transpired when the ball suddenly landed at his feet, you may think that he had it all mapped out. The sophomore forward found twine in the closing minutes Monday night, putting home a beautiful chip shot to send No. 2 Xaverian to the Div. 1 South boys soccer quarterfinals with a thrilling 2-1 victory over No. 15 BC High.

“I mean, really I was looking at the crowd for most of it,” Mungovan said. “Just seeing where the ball would land. The ball just landed in my favor. Saw the goalie sitting high out of position, I just sort of chipped it over. That was the idea, I’m just thankful it paid off.”

The series of events which led up to Mungovan’s heroic moment only made the victory that much sweeter for Xaverian (12-3-4). It would take a rally for the Hawks to survive and advance, as Gabe Pichay provided BC High (6-9-4) a 1-0 advantage in the 37th minute off an athletic move. The senior forward leaped through a crowd of Hawks defenders, heading a shot into the Xaverian net just before the half.

But when play resumed after intermission, Xaverian had an answer. Senior captain Lorenzo Mancini managed to gain possession in front of the BC High net, and ripped a bullet past the reach of Eagles goalkeeper Cooper Robards, knotting the score at 1-all in the 57th minute of play.

“This team’s the one we respect an awful lot,” Xaverian coach Garrett Bowers said of BC High. “We play them twice a year, this was the third time through. That’s always difficult, no matter what. But we knew. In our second game against them, we made an adjustment to be a little more patient, and play a little bit more disciplined defense-shaped wise. And we had gotten a little away from that in the first (half). And settling it back down, playing smarter, and taking your chances when they were appropriate, just taking chances, was the big difference in the game.”

As is normally the case in Catholic Conference play, the two teams played quite evenly, finishing with nine shots apiece. Thomas Rodia picked up the win in goal for Xaverian with five saves.

Robards kept BC High’s hopes alive all night, as he finished with seven saves for the Eagles.

As fans braced themselves for overtime in the 78th minute, Forsgren lobbed a toss from the sideline into the box. Mungovan out-jumped a defender to reign the pass in, then simply tapped the ball high in the air toward the net with his left foot. The next second felt like an eternity, but the end result was one he will truly, never forget.

“I think it’s sort of cliché to say, but I think throughout the day, I was thinking of bagging the winner against BC High,” Mungovan said. “Thankful it came off.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/32fc6cE