MILTON — Marblehead’s Brent Munroe, head coach of Lynnfield’s boys soccer team, was oh so close to capturing back-to-back state titles. His Pioneers fell, 3-2, against top-ranked Cohasset at rain-soaked Curry College on Saturday.
Throw out all the sports cliches, starting with the one that says defense wins championships. Sometimes, it comes down to grit, determination, and a refuse-to-lose mentality.
This one, for all the marbles in Division 4, was Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier Thrilla-in-Manila style, with both teams spending 79 minutes-plus punching and counterpunching each other. Twice the Pioneers held one-goal leads, and twice Cohasset came back to tie.
In the end, Cohasset’s Sam Ellinger, who had subbed in with 20 minutes left in the second half, landed the knockout punch with 30 seconds to go to clinch a 3-2 thriller and spoil Lynnfield’s quest for a second straight title.
“No doubt, it was a heavyweight boxing match. They just wore us down,” Munroe said. “There were a lot of 50-50s and we fought for all of them, but their size – all over the field – really made a difference as the game went on. We moved the ball well, especially in the first half when we had a lot of opportunities. It was a wide open game, which I don’t love because it’s so gut-wrenching. It’s nice to be able to hold a lead when you get one, but we knew that was going to be difficult today because it was so wide open.”