With all the controversy surrounding the name “Rebels” and what that term is associated, I’ve finally found the answer — the new mascot for Walpole High School Athletics.
How does the Walpole Underdogs sound?
For this year’s Walpole fall teams, that’s certainly the mantra that Walpole has embodied. With a 13-3 record in MIAA tournament games across Field Hockey, Football, Boys and Girls Soccer, and Volleyball, the Rebels have accrued the most wins in the South out of any other team.
However — more impressive — the ‘underdogs’ of Walpole High are 9-3 (this record includes all of the games in which Walpole was the lower seed). In contrast, Oliver Ames — who are in all of the same tournaments that Walpole is in — has 6 wins in total and only one in the underdog role, and, ironically, have lost to Walpole twice as the higher seed.
And these aren’t just 9 over 8 seed, small, insignificant upsets. Boys Soccer has advanced to the State Title game — winning their first South Sectional Champion trophy in the program’s history — as the 13 seed in the Division II South Sectional. The girls version of Rebsoc reached their first South semifinal in 12 years as the 19 seed, the lowest ranked team in the whole entire tournament. Even the perennial power Porkers have got in on the act, upsetting Duxbury and Acton-Boxborough on their way to their first State Championship berth in 6 years.
Girls Soccer arguably had the most improbable run of any team in any MIAA bracket this year, overcoming three higher seeded teams — the least of which was still ranked 5 seeds better than the 19th seeded Rebels — on their way to the semifinals. No game exemplified Walpole Girls Soccer as the underdogs more than their win over 3 seeded Oliver Ames, in which they were continually put under pressure but their defense and star sophomore goalie Kaitlin Brown refused to yield. Rebsoc then won on the eighth penalty kick, overcoming the stronger and much higher seeded OA Tigers.
Boys Soccer has had a similar run, being the underdog in every tournament game they have played in so far on their way to the State Final. First, the Underdogs beat 4 Greater New Bedford; then, 5 Nauset. The Nauset game was Boys Soccer’s biggest upset, as they continually absorbed the Nauset pressure for 100 minutes — especially from the second half on — until senior goalkeeper Peter Hoegler saved the 4th Nauset PK to win the game for the Rebels. No. 9 Pembroke was the lowest seed the Rebels would face — a 2-0 victory — before taking on the 2 seed Oliver Ames, another 2-0 win that saw the underdogs of Boys Soccer play their best half of the season as they took the South Sectional championship.
And even the Porkers have gotten in on the act. Despite being the favorites in their first three tournament games — against Westwood, Sandwich, and Dennis-Yarmouth — the Porkers took on No. 1 seeded Duxbury and were outplayed and out-‘cornered’ throughout the first half, especially. However, even when the Dragons took a 2-0 nothing lead — a deficit foreign to the Porkers all season — the underdogs fought back with a stroke from senior Captain Brooke Matherson and a goal off of a penalty corner from senior Captain Ashley Waldron to get the game into overtime. Matherson put in the game winner in overtime to get the underdog Porkers into the EMass game, where they played their nemesis, AB, a team that has knocked the Porkers out of the tournament 3 times in the last six years. However, even though the Porkers were again out-‘cornered’ but managed somehow, against the run of play, to strike first with a rebound goal from Matherson. Although the Colonials scored in the second half to tie the game, and looked to have all the momentum, the Porkers bounced back with a string of corners and possession. After a couple stick saves from Waldron to keep the door shut, the Porkers earned a penalty corner with time expiring, which Matherson slotted to put the Porkers in the state championship.
All three of these underdog teams have managed to succeed in two important areas of their respective sports — defense and resiliency. Both goalkeepers for the soccer teams accrued tournament shutout streaks that far exceeded 300 minutes — 374 minutes for Brown and 340 (and counting) for Hoegler. Waldron’s defense at the end of the game kept the Porkers in the game against AB: “Those were the two most important plays of the season,” said Matherson. “It gave us the opportunity to stay in the game.”
Even after being dominated throughout the games at Nauset and Oliver Ames, Boys and Girls Soccer did not bend under the pressure, and waited for penalty kicks to bounce back and take the wins. However, the Porkers have been the epitome of underdog resiliency, going down two goals against Duxbury before rebounding to tie the game — very much against the seemingly insurmountable Dragon possession — and responded well to the AB goal that looked to change the momentum.
And, most of all — but probably least admitted — all underdogs need a little luck. The Oliver Ames girls team decided that they were not going to need penalty kicks — the Coach admitted that they did not practice PKs — and missed their last three PKs to give Rebsoc a multitude of opportunities to take the game. Nauset, with at least some practice, missed 3 out of their 4 PKs after dominating the Rebels for 60 minutes. And most of all, Field Hockey received two stroke calls in their win against Duxbury and a controversial allowance of play at the end of the game against Acton Boxborough to give Matherson the ability to score the game winning goal after time had expired.
“I never want to play a home playoff game ever again,” said Boys Soccer Assistant Coach Steve Lipsett.
Although he’s not serious, Walpole Boys Soccer has lost its last two home playoff game and gone 6-1 in their last seven away playoff games. But to be fair, out of the 4 Fall Sports home playoff games, the Rebels have gone 4-0. So maybe, the Rebels, the ‘underdogs’, Walpole athletics — whatever you want to call us — we’re just better.
