Mondays are typically a drag. This one, however, came with a state tournament game as No. 23 Somerset Berkley paid a visit to face No. 10 Marblehead.
It’s been eight years since the Magicians last won a home playoff game. Although they needed double overtime to do it, the job was secured in a 2-1 final. Marblehead advanced to Thursday’s Sweet 16 match against No. 7 Wayland. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m.
With things knotted, 1-1, after regulation, extra time was needed. Both sides relied on their defense to get them through the first overtime, but when the second overtime period came around, the Magicians weren’t leaving without a win.
A deflected ball spilled out in front of the net. Marblehead’s Jared Halpern raced to the rebound and poked it in for the golden goal. It sent the Marblehead faithful into a frenzy, and it was all she wrote.
“We knew that if we could get a shot from the sideline, we figured we would have enough people to crash,” said Marblehead coach Elmer Magaña. “Especially the far post, and the shot came and we got a great bounce and Jared Halpern just put it in.”
Marblehead had to fight for its win – to say the least. The hosts trailed by a goal in the first half.
But when the Magicians needed an equalizer, they pushed the pace and Ilan Druker forced a penalty. On the ensuing penalty kick, he put one in the back of the net to tie the game, 1-1.
“We knew it was going to be a battle and it was,” Magaña said. “Unfortunately, we fell behind, but we did not give up and kept on pushing for the tying goal.”
Rounding out home-team positives, goalie Rory Zampese was a man on a mission and making, frankly, incredible saves to keep the season alive.
“The tie came and we continued to push forward. Our passing got much better, our pressing, and we knew that the second one was coming and it was just a matter of time,” Magaña said. “We didn’t want it to go to penalties because we have the talent and we knew they were playing on the counterattack. I’m extremely proud of our guys and so happy that they got a playoff victory.”
