No one can ever accuse the 2023 Xaverian soccer staff of backing right into a Division 1 state title.
The Hawks survived what might be finest be described as a gauntlet on their technique to the college’s first Super Bowl title since 2015. There was an epic quarterfinal win over state energy Springfield Central, a hard-fought semifinal win over a 10-win Needham staff and two wins over archrival St. John’s Prep in a six-day stretch to assert the Div. 1 crown.
“If you were writing a book, they might say this one would have been sports fiction,” Xaverian coach Al Fornaro stated. “I don’t know if anybody has ever needed to beat groups like that after which to beat a staff the standard of St. John’s Prep was spectacular, however our guys have been able to play.
“We had some guys banged up (the Hawks played the final two games without star wide receivers Jonathan Monteiro and Charlie Comella), but we always say next man up. Sometimes it’s nothing more than words, but we let them know that they are one injury away from playing. We were fortunate to have depth and a group of kids who have confidence in themselves.”
One of these gamers was Henry Hasselbeck, who saved his finest for final. He got here to Xaverian final 12 months bearing the burden of being a Hasselbeck, not a small process contemplating each his father and uncles have been quarterbacks on the college and later went on to play within the NFL. Add in the truth that one other uncle (Nate) was one of many college’s all-time finest broad receivers and you’ve got a recipe for unrealistic expectations.
Hasselbeck dealt with the skin strain with class and went on to show that something he acquired, he earned. He actually left his blood on the sector (the product of a damaged nostril) within the Thanksgiving Day win over St. John’s Prep and refused to let his staff down within the state finals, making numerous massive performs when it was wanted.
“When Henry came here, we sat him down and said, ‘I don’t want you to be Matt, I don’t want you to be Timmy and I don’t want you to be Nate. I want you to be you’ and that turned out to be pretty danged good,” Fornaro stated. “All the expectations never bothered him one bit and I think it’s because he’s a bit of a California-type kid, things don’t get to him. I’m just so happy for Henry that he was able to have the season he had.”
A season that concluded with not one, however two wins over St. John’s Prep. Some on social media have questioned the importance of Thanksgiving Day video games beneath the present statewide soccer format, however don’t rely Fornaro amongst that group. A pulsating 23-21 Turkey Day victory capped off by a 30-yard subject objective by Luke Bell on the ultimate play was simply what the Hawks wanted within the eyes of their coach.
“I really do think winning on Thanksgiving really helped our confidence going into the second game (a 31-25 win),” Fornaro stated. “St. John’s Prep had been rolling over people and there were times when they rolled over us, but our kids hung in there. Winning that game and going on to beat them again at Gillette speaks to their resiliency as young men. We had our bumps and bruises as did every team at this stage of the season, but we just went out there and played the game.”
And emerged because the Div. 1 state champion.
FINAL SWEET 16
1. Xaverian (11-2): He was solely there for 2 years however Henry Hasselbeck cemented his legacy as top-of-the-line quarterbacks within the college’s storied historical past.
2. St. John’s Prep (11-2): A pair of losses to Xaverian shouldn’t take away from the season the Eagles had.
3. King Philip (13-0): The Warriors took no prisoners of their march to the Div. 2 state title.
4. Duxbury (11-1): Few will ever overlook the efficiency Alex Barlow turned in in opposition to Scituate within the Div. 4 state championship recreation.
5. Marshfield (9-4): Rams are proof that it pays to play a troublesome schedule. They actually did that and it performed a big half in them attending to the Div. 2 state finals.
6. Catholic Memorial (8-3): Knights lose some expertise, however you recognize they are going to be again within the hunt for a state title as soon as once more subsequent 12 months.
7. Needham (10-2): They can be speaking concerning the 2023 Needham soccer staff for years to come back.
8. Foxboro (12-1): The brief trip to Gillette Stadium proved to be a really glad one for this band of Warriors.
9. Andover (10-2): One factor we will say for certain about E.J. Perry: he is aware of precisely what number of instances we picked in opposition to his staff within the weekly Pickorama.
10. Milton (9-4): Steve Dembowski stated his staff can be a lot better ready to play Walpole the second time round and he wasn’t mendacity.
11. Walpole (9-4): The identical issues which plagued the Timberwolves early within the season got here again to hang-out them within the Div. 3 state championship recreation.
12. Milford (10-2): Not many groups can say they received 10 video games and that’s a testomony to this system.
13. Billerica (9-2): If you may’t get to Gillette, ending the 12 months with 9 wins capped off by a victory at Fenway Park isn’t such a foul factor.
14. Hanover (11-2): The season didn’t finish the best way the Hawks would have favored, however they did one thing no different staff did – beat Duxbury.
15. Methuen (8-3): Drew Eason will definitely go down within the document books as one of many best quarterbacks at school historical past.
16. Scituate (9-4): Sailors merely had no defensive solutions for Patriot League rival Duxbury at Gillette Stadium.
ON THE BENCH: Everett (9-2), BC High (6-5), Lincoln-Sudbury (8-2), Weymouth (7-4), Fairhaven (12-1), Barnstable (10-2), Bishop Feehan (8-2), Peabody (10-1), Mansfield (6-5), Woburn (8-3), Central Catholic (5-6)
SWEET 16 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
1993 – Wellesley (11-0)
1994 – New Bedford (11-0)
1995 – Barnstable (11-0)
1996 – Mansfield (12-0)
1997 – St. John’s Prep (11-0)
1998 – Xaverian (10-0)
1999 – North Attleboro (11-0)
2000 – Norwood (12-0)
2001 – Everett (11-1)
2002 – Everett (12-0)
2003 – Everett (11-0)
2004 – Brockton (11-2)
2005 – Brockton (13-0)
2006 – Everett (12-0)
2007 – Everett (13-0)
2008 – BC High (11-1)
2009 – Xaverian (13-0)
2010 – Everett (12-0)
2011 – Everett (13-0)
2012 – Everett (11-1)
2013 – Mansfield (13-0)
2014 – Xaverian (12-0)
2015 – Xaverian (12-0)
2016 – Everett (10-2)
2017 – Everett (11-0)
2018 – North Andover (12-0)
2019 – St. John’s Prep (11-1)
2020 – Catholic Memorial (4-0)
2021 – Catholic Memorial (13-0)
2022 – Catholic Memorial (12-0)
2023 – Xaverian (11-2)
Source: www.bostonherald.com