By Riley Fontana
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The long-held rivalry between the Dover-Sherborn Raiders and the Medfield Warriors came to a head in the MIAA Division 3 Boys Soccer Semi-Finals. The winner of this game would move on to play Norwell in the State Finals, and Dover-Sherborn was able to take a 3-1 win.
Both teams came out of the gate hot, striving to beat their rival and take on the State Finals. Medfield senior Sean Graham was tight on defense, trying to push back the attacking attempts from Dover-Sherborn. Dover-Sherborn junior Ahbi Sharma immediately showed himself as a threat to attacks, breaking their passes and taking possession of the ball. Medfield put up the first shot on goal, junior Jackson Dodge made a scoring attempt that could not make it past Patrick Driscoll in goal for Dover-Sherborn.
Medfield goalkeeper Elliot Leong was assisted by his defense, with junior Cullen Doyle blocking a shot from a Dover-Sherborn attacker. Caio Dos Santos, Dover-Sherborn junior, fought to keep possession of the ball giving his team more scoring attempts. Senior Reaves Debin scored the first goal for Dover-Sherborn with 22:42 left in the half. Medfield stepped up their game following the goal, trying to even the score. Medfield junior Henry Keysor began to disrupt Dover-Sherborn's plays to regain control of the ball. Leong drew a penalty for slide tackling and was replaced with junior Sam Stevens. Stevens faced down a penalty kick by senior captain Jack Martin, which gave Dover-Sherborn a 2-0 lead.
The second half saw Medfield fight harder against their rivals, trying to stage a comeback. Dover-Sherborn was unaffected by Medfield's attempts, dodging through their defense and racking up more shots on goal. Dover-Sherborn junior Hamilton Tsen was huge on defense, blocking out Medfield attackers. Trying to continue their scoring lead, Dover-Sherborn junior Wesley Bunn stole the ball from Leong, turning to take a shot on goal. Medfield freshman Max Tillmann ran circles around the defense, breaking through into the attacking zone.
Dos Santos scored the third and final goal for Dover-Sherborn with 27:38 left to play. Medfield freshman William Koch worked with senior Sean Graham on defense to keep out the Dover-Sherborn attackers, forcing them back into their own zone. Ethan Drummond, Medfield junior, blocked shots on goal and regained possession of the ball. Medfield senior Charles Curmi scored their first and only goal of the game, with 7:10 left in the game.
The Dover-Sherborn Raiders continued on to the State Finals against Norwell on November 22. Dover-Sherborn took home the championship title with a 2-0 win.
