High school playoffs: D-R boys soccer wins in OT; field hockey falls to Foxboro

DIGHTON — It was one of those moments every player dreams of.

Six minutes into the first half of overtime of a scoreless match, a foul was called on Medfield just outside of their penalty box, setting up Dighton-Rehoboth with a free kick in dangerous territory.

The Falcons turned to junior defensive midfielder Nathaniel Wheeler, who had been practicing such free kicks all week leading up to this match, and now, with his side's season on the line, would have to deliver.

Wheeler did just that as he curved a beautiful shot from the edge of the box right into the top right corner of the net to earn the No. 4 Falcons the 1-0 win over the No. 13 Warriors and book his team's place in the Elite Eight.

"(That goal) felt really, really good," Wheeler said. "We were working on that all week and it came down to that and I hit it, so I feel good."

"We've been working on (those free kicks) all week in training and (Wheeler's) been hitting them from that side of the field," D-R coach Mike Morgado said. "It's kind of something that you feel (when choosing who to take the free kick)."

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Also putting up a strong performance was freshman goalkeeper Brennan Silva, who made seven saves to keep the clean sheet and keep the Falcons from falling behind.

"Just fantastic," Morgado said of Silva's effort. "He had a great game. Just stayed in tune (and) never lost focus. He made a ton of nice saves for us to keep us in the game and he's a good keeper."

D-R got off to a solid start in the match, controlling possession and forcing Medfield goalkeeper Samuel Carnes to make three saves within the first 12 minutes. The Warriors soon started catching, forcing Silva to make three saves within a six minute span while evening out possession and play for the remainder of the half.

Medfield continued to look strong into the second half, creating several chances in the first few minutes while the Falcons continued to come up empty on the other side of the pitch. Senior midfielder Kevin Smith nearly gave the hosts the lead in the 57th and 69th minutes, as did senior defensive midfielder Bryce Downs off a set piece in the 82nd, but all three chances went just wide of the post. The Warriors had their best chance in the 68th minute on a hard shot that was stopped by a quick-thinking Silva to keep the sides even and the whistle blew after 80 with still no goals separating the two teams.

The Falcons came into the first half of overtime on the right foot, creating a couple of chances off free kicks in the first couple of minutes while the Warriors countered. Then in the 86th, a foul was called just outside the top left corner of the Medfield penalty area, setting up the Wheeler free kick which the junior sent flying into the back of the net to earn his side the victory as players and fans alike erupted in jubilation.

"I think we had some decent chances early on in the game," Morgado said. "In the second half, they probably had the better half, we defended for quite a bit there in the second half, but they're just a fantastic side. There's a bunch of big boys over there that were strong, tough and good soccer players as well."

With the win, D-R moves on to the Round of 8, where they'll play host to No. 5 Cardinal Spellman, with the winner moving on to the Final Four to take on the winner of No. 1 Belchertown and No. 9 Greater New Bedford.

"We haven't seen (Cardinal Spellman) all year, but I love our group," Morgado said. "We have a good bond here, We have a bunch of guys who like and care about each other, they play hard for each other. We'll go back to training tomorrow, get a nice little light session in, get these guys stretched out and get ready for our next opponent."

FIELD HOCKEY

No. 6 Foxboro 3, No. 11 Dighton-Rehoboth 1

The Falcons strong season came to an end Wednesday afternoon in Foxboro as they fell 3-1 to the Warriors.

"I honestly thought my girls played well and that the teams were evenly matched," D-R coach Meg Marcotte said. "We don't have turf and we don't have a feeder system, so for my girls to play as well as they did against a team with both, I'm very proud."

The Warriors opened up the scoring late in the first quarter as Kate Collins converted a penalty shot, sending it just over the stick of goalie Rowan Whittaker, who made 15 saves for the Falcons on the afternoon.

D-R then tied it up with 7:30 left in the second quarter as Natalia Martin fed Lexi Fratus for the equalizer before Mary Collins found the back of the net to retake the lead for Foxboro in final minute of the half.

Kate Collins scored off another penalty with four minutes left in the third quarter and the Warriors held on for the win to move on to the Round of 8.

The Falcons finish their season with a combined record of 13-4-3.

"This is the best team D-R has fielded in over 12 years," Marcotte said. "So many firsts and so many things to be proud of."

Taunton Daily Gazette sports reporter Cameron Merritt can be reached at cmerritt@tauntongazette.com. You can follow him on Twitter at @CamMerritt_News. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to the Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Dighton-Rehoboth boys soccer win in OT; field hockey falls to Foxboro