HINGHAM – Would history repeat itself?
In 2022, No.4 Notre Dame (Hingham) hosted No.5 Grafton in the MIAA Girls Soccer Division 2 quarterfinals. The game came down to the wire, and Grafton secured the 3-2, penalty-kick victory to prolong their season.
On Saturday afternoon, the two squads – with the same seeding as last year – met again in Hingham. This time, however, the Notre Dame Cougars defeated the Grafton Gators, 2-0, to advance to the semifinals.
“I saw their heart – the whole time. We faced this team last year in the Elite Eight, we’ve faced them this season. They’re always good – it’s just a tough game,” Grafton Head Coach Matt Bazinet told the Community Advocate after the game.
Notre Dame’s Sydney Comeau scored 23 minutes into the match to put the Cougars ahead 1-0. Grafton fought hard to even the score, but Notre Dame’s Siobhan Colin scored with 26 minutes left in the match to give the Cougars a more comfortable lead.
Although the Gators fell in the quarterfinals, the team still has a lot to be proud of.
“[The season] is a huge success, just awesome,” said Bazinet. “These seniors have been some of the best players in our program’s history over the last four years. Nothing but good memories about this season.”
Bazinet said the team had become tight-knit over the course of the season.
“That’s the reason why we got this far. This team – through and through – always stuck together. Over the past week – my wife just gave birth recently [and] I’ve been in and out of the hospital – the captains got everyone together and rallied the team,” Bazinet said.
Grafton finishes the season 17-4. The team graduates eight seniors.
