NASHUA – Jess Kaufman was still a bit stunned after the final whistle.
In a season where everything seemed to go right for the Pembroke girls’ soccer team, the head coach was still trying to process what went wrong for the Spartans during their 2-0 loss to No. 6 Milford in Thursday’s Division II semifinal.
“It just doesn’t feel like it really happened right now. I’m in a little bit of shock and I feel so bad for the girls,” Kaufman said. “They worked hard for so long, all season long. When we got together in June and we got started, no one could have expected this wonderful season to arrive because we’re often not here at this big dance.”
But this year was different.
Pembroke enjoyed a stellar year, earning the No. 2 seed after a 12-1-3 regular season. The team hadn’t lost in over a month, excelled in close games all year (5-1 in games decided by one goal) and had grown accustomed to being on the winning side.
So when Milford scored in the first five minutes, held Pembroke scoreless throughout and left Pembroke on the doorstep of the D-II championship game at Stellos Stadium, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
“I was on the sideline kind of dumbfounded, looking for solutions, wanting solutions and wanting them to do what they’ve been able to do all season long and it’s just heartbreaking,” Kaufman said. “I think when (Milford) got that first goal so early, there was plenty of time. But then shortly, time was ticking away and I felt like we were getting a little frantic on the field.”
Both programs knew what they were in for after playing to a 3-3 tie in Pembroke on Oct. 17. And with a trip to the finals on the line this time around, the importance of scoring early – or first – was magnified.
“We wanted to get them on their heels and have them chase,” said Milford coach Russ Matthews, whose team will take on No. 5 Hanover in Sunday’s final at noon back at Stellos Stadium. “We feel if teams are trying to chase us and extend themselves, we feel like we can exploit that.”
Milford put itself in that position almost immediately as sophomore forward Syd Thibault cleaned up a rebound from senior Ashleigh Matsis in the fifth minute for the 1-0 advantage.
Pembroke tried to counter shortly after with a good look at the net for Hannah Brown, but the sophomore’s shot tipped off the crossbar. Late in the half, another Pembroke scoring chance was turned away, this time by Renee Wilson, who threw her body in the way for a defensive save.
“(Wilson) was actually a JV player who I swung up and she played with us throughout the season, but she found herself in the starting role because of her speed. And she’s just fierce,” Matthews said.
Pembroke, though, started to find its rhythm on both ends of the field in the second half after an uneven opening 40 minutes.
“We came out obviously flat at the beginning and a little bit intimidated by the stage and the stadium itself,” Kaufman said. “But then we settled into our game and especially in the second half I think we played some great soccer.”
Even with the deficit, Pembroke was in control as the second half began, generating two shots on goal and a pair of corner kicks in the first 10 minutes.
Using the playmaking ability of senior forward Kayla Paquin, Pembroke kept the pressure up. In the 53rd minute, Paquin took the ball wide down the right sideline and sent a through ball to teammate Cierra Hill. But Hill didn’t have enough time to gather the pass to finish.
Paquin generated another chance moments later, but again the Milford defense caught up, swarmed to the box and cleared the ball away from harm.
“I feel like we often like to let our wide backs go and be part of our offense, and I feel like sometimes we were holding back, which was not our design,” Kaufman said.
After several more failed attempts to score, Pembroke had little to no choice but to adopt a more aggressive approach late. And that’s exactly when Milford put the game on ice as Alli Ciardelli came flying in to clean up a shot off the post with 2:24 to play.
“It just wasn’t our day, which is so sad because so many days have been our day this season,” Kaufman said.
(Jay McAree can be reached at 369-3371, jmcaree@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @JayMcAree.)