The Porkers ended their regular season with a record of 12-0-1, and are now continuing to the post-season for a shot at the state championship. Last year, the Porkers sadly ended their season with a record of 22-1-0, losing to Acton Boxboro in the North/South game. The Porkers did not win the state championship, but they did win the Bay State league along with the South Sectional Title.
The Porkers did not have to play in the preliminary round of the post-season, due to their qualifying record, so they automatically advanced to the First round. The game was at home, against Westwood.
On November 1, the Porkers competed against Westwood, their first game they played in the post-season. The game ended with a score of 7-1 Walpole. The players seemed unaffected by the unusual turf conditions which were a result of the rain storm before the game.
The first half ended 2-1 Walpole, Coach Marianne Murphy said “They had a different type of offense that was unfamiliar to the girls on defense, which created some confusion.”
The Porkers made a comeback in the second half, scoring five goals to send Westwood back home with a loss. Coach Murphy said “we came out a different team in the second half and scored five goals to put them away.” The biggest highlight of the game was when senior Captain Caroline Feeley dove to the ground to score.
The Porkers advanced to their next game which was the Quarter finals, Vs. Sandwich. The first half ended in a score of 0-0 and the game looked like it was going to end in a tie, but senior captain Brooke Matherson was not going to let that happen. She scored with only six minutes left in the game to win, the final score being 1-0 Walpole.
Despite the victory Coach Murphy was not pleased with the game, Murphy said “The sandwich game was probably our worst game in the playoffs.” Murphy said “we struggled to draw penalty corners and to get some shots off.” The Porkers came close to the ending of their post-season, but ultimately prevailed and wanted to show everyone the way the Porkers play was not this game.
After Sandwich, Walpole advanced to the semi-finals against Dennis Yarmouth, the game ended with a score of 1-0 Walpole. The Porkers will now advance to the finals Vs. Duxbury at Tauton High school, Saturday November 9. The Porkers met Dennis-Yarmouth in the semi-finals and had trouble getting shots past Dennis-Yarmouth’s goalie Max Allen. But this year was different, ” the girls were fired up and wanted to win this game, everyone on the field played very well,” Murphy said. Walpole out shot Dennis-Yarmouth 19-3, and they were able to get a shot by Max Allen. The Porkers were not going to let him knock them off the road to the State Championship. Murphy was very pleased with the way the girls played, and said “Walpole totally outplayed Dennis Yarmouth and I was very proud of them.”
The Porkers have had a great season so far, every team that they have faced they have beaten either by a landslide or by a point. Will they be able to keep up the winning streak or will they succumb to the same fate as last years post-season losing in the North/South game? That is the only thing standing between them, and a State Championship final.
