HINGHAM — Fifteen minutes were all that stood between the Manchester Essex field hockey team and a return trip to the Division 4 state championship game this weekend.
Monomoy Regional, the Hornets’ opponent Wednesday night, had other plans, however.
Trailing by a goal heading into the fourth and final quarter, the third-seeded Sharks scored twice and held on to defeat the Hornets, 2-1, on Hingham High School’s turf field.
Second seeded Manchester Essex, which has reached at least the state semifinal round for the past three seasons, saw this year’s campaign come to a close with a 17-2-3 record.
Both of Monomoy’s fourth quarter tallies came after they applied pressure in front of the Hornets’ cage, eventually resulting in corner attempts. The Harwich-based school converted on two of the five they took down the homestretch.
“Defense wins championships, and we gave then a lot of opportunities that should not have happened,” said Manchester Essex head coach Courtney Brown. “For them to score in that span of five corners is expected; any good team would score.
“We had a tough first quarter finding our groove ,” added Brown, “but we really felt good in the second quarter. But then in the fourth when it mattered most, we were beat.”
Manchester Essex junior goaltender Brigid Carovillano and her counterpart, Maddie Swett of the Sharks, were both on top of their games in the first half, with neither allowing a goal.
All of the offensive action came once the third quarter began.
Just over two minutes into the third, Manchester Essex sophomore Laila Mears gave her team goal they needed to break the stalemate. Her 12th goal of the season — and third of the playoffs — enabled the Cape Ann League Baker champions to get their groove back
“We had missed a few opportunities on post, but Laila got the last touch on a slow rolling ball on the line. It was awesome,” said Brown.
As the fourth quarter began, however, the Sharks returned to their equally competitive nature.
Emily Latin scored both goals for the eventual winners. She tied it up off a corner with just under 10 minutes to go, then popped home the go-ahead tally with 5:19 remaining.
While the Hornets played their hearts out, they couldn’t come up with the game-tying goal down the stretch.
Monomoy now takes on the two-time defending Division 4 state champions from Uxbridge High (which beat Sutton, 7-0, Tuesday in the other semifinal) in the state final Saturday at Worcester Polytech Institute
Manchester Essex now says goodbye to their seniors such as Liv Cahill, Greta Gado, and captains Phileine de Widt, Torrin Kirk, Ella Chafe, and Cape Ann League Baker Player of the Year Caelie Patrick.