Natick High girls soccer team beats Hingham to claim first state title in team history

HANSON — There’s playing with house money and then there’s hitting the jackpot.

The Natick girls soccer team experienced both this postseason.

As the sixth-seeded Redhawks advanced game by game in the Division 1 state tournament, they felt like they had nothing to lose.

After all, nobody really expected them to make it this far.

But on Saturday, Natick found itself in a state final matchup with unbeaten and top-seeded Hingham. Yet, all the pressure hung on the Harborwomen.

In the end, Natick was able to push all of its chips to the middle and strike gold.

Junior Emma Grant’s goal in the 77th minute ended up being the difference for Natick as the Redhawks won their first state title in program history with a 3-2 victory at Whitman-Hanson High.

“Everyone doubted us at the beginning of the season. We proved to ourselves we could do this, but we also proved to everyone else that you can never underestimate a team, like (us),” Natick senior Mikayla Henderson said. “We definitely came in as the underdogs, which we like. The pressure was all on them. We had nothing to lose.”

“This is gold, right?” Natick coach Dave Wainwright said. “This is absolute gold. We brought some history to the school and now have a little bit of bragging rights for the next year or so. State champs says it all.”

Back in Wainwright’s first year with the team in 2018, the Redhawks won the Div. 1 South section as the No. 10 seed. They ended up making it to the state finals, but lost to Wachusett on penalty kicks.

“It feels great, but it also feels like (we completed) unfinished business,” Wainwright said. “My first year, we made it here and lost on PKs. That was such an empty feeling. Three of our girls were in that game and they wanted this one so bad. For them to get back here and do it with their sisters is amazing.”

With Natick (16-1-5) clinging to a 2-1 lead after Hingham (20-1-1) cut a 2-0 deficit in half in the 69th minute – and nearly tied it up a minute later – Grant came up with some magic.

The speedy junior had the ball out on the right wing, almost near the end line. She then bent a right-footed chip toward the goal that flew over Harborwomen goalie Niamh McGinness’ head and nestled into the far corner for a 3-1 lead.

Grant immediately put her hands on her head and her jaw dropped, almost in disbelief, as she celebrated her improbable goal with teammates.

“Usually, I take it down the wing and cross it in, that’s what I was doing all season,” Grant said. “I saw there was nobody in the box and I didn’t know what to do with it, so I kind of just shot it and hoped for the best. It was pretty much a lucky shot, to be honest.”

“That was 100 percent the deciding factor,” Wainwright said. “We needed every goal we could get. We knew we weren’t going to blank them, they’re that special of a team. We had to put goals in the net in order for us to win this.”

Ava Maguire went on to cut it to 3-2 in the 79th minute, but the Redhawks were able to get through a nervy final couple of minutes at the end to grab the all-important win.

As the final whistle sounded, Natick’s substitutes sprinted out on the field toward senior goalie Allison Jeter, with the rest of their teammates joining in on the fun.

And as the Redhawks celebrated as a team once again after being awarded the Div. 1 state title trophy, their fans rushed the field to join the celebration.

“That was incredible,” Henderson said. “To get that moment with just our team was amazing and then for all of our friends to come running on the field was so surreal and was something I don’t think anyone on this team will ever forget.”

Natick took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute when Kyra Hacker’s corner kick found the head of Zoe Graves, who buried her header from close range.

Graves made it 2-0 in the 60th minute following good work down the right by Henderson, who beat two defenders before sending in a low cross that the junior striker put away first time.

Hingham’s UCLA-bound star Sophie Reale, who was held in check most of the game with sophomore Kaitlyn Lebrun marking her, cut it to 2-1 in the 69th minute. A loose ball fell her way and she blasted a right-footed effort into the top far corner from 20 yards.

A minute later, Claire Murray collected a through ball from Olivia Sharkansky. Jeter came out of her net to challenge and Murray tried to lob her, but it went just over the net.

That paved the way for Grant to restore the two-goal advantage and the Redhawks to close the game out. All while making Natick girls soccer history.

“I’m just really psyched for our seniors to experience this win and finish off on a high note,” Grant said. “That’s what was most important to me.”

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Natick High girls soccer beats hingham state championship