EXETER — Pembroke senior striker Ava Alberico played until the final whistle on Tuesday night. Even down two goals with less than a minute to go, she got on the end of a ball in the box and finished her season strong.
The No. 4 Spartans fought for every ball against top-seeded Hollis-Brookline, but they just couldn’t break through until it was too late in an eventual 2-1 Division II girls soccer semifinal loss to the Cavaliers at Exeter High’s Bill Ball Stadium.
Alberico and the efforts displayed by the rest of the senior class — from midfielders Lily Royer and Lilly Ricci and defender Giuliana Davis — exemplified the toughness of this squad.
“We had such a good season. We came in wanting every single win for every single game, and we played until the last minute of this game,” Alberico said.
Pembroke (12-3-2) played Hollis-Brookline (16-1-1) tough, more so than any other team in the state had all year. The Spartans gave the Cavaliers their only loss this season. They were fearless going forward in the semis, with players testing Cavaliers senior goalie Mya Blackman from afar, left and right, with four shots in the first 10 minutes.
Pembroke junior keeper Loralye Wainwright remained strong in goal as well, notching two saves to keep her net clean through 40 minutes. She was tested again coming out of halftime by junior forward Livia Ward, who shot from the right side, but Wainwright blocked and corralled the attempt quickly.
Ward eventually did break through, but this time not on a forward run. A bouncing ball across the middle popped up in front of her and she finished with power, hitting her shot off the goalpost and into the net.
The Cavaliers settled in as they tried to be more thoughtful on the ball while maintaining their pace of attack. It worked to generate plenty of set-piece opportunities.
Senior midfielder Kai Swart widened the lead with 15 minutes remaining on a corner, assisted by senior defender Adrienne Thibault. Swart found a way to get unmarked and finished with a strong header down into the ground that bounced up and hit the top of the net.
With the win, the Cavaliers earned another matchup with Bow — a 2-1 winner over Milford in the night’s other semifinal — in Saturday’s D-II final back in Exeter. Hollis-Brookline coach Peter Clarke compared the third consecutive state final encounter with the Falcons to the great Celtics-Lakers rivalries in the NBA.
“It’s the best of what high school sports should be, this rivalry,” Clarke said.
Pembroke coach Jess Kaufman-Desrochers chalked up the loss to unlucky bounces throughout and the overall quality of Hollis-Brookline. The Spartans knew it would be a tall order to beat the Cavaliers, who are now heading to their fourth consecutive D-II title tilt.
“I’m so proud of the girls because they never gave up until the last minute,” the Spartans’ coach said.