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By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Coming off an 11-6-1 regular season, Medfield High boys soccer holds some high expectations heading into 2019. A heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to rival Westwood on penalty kicks in the opening round of the Division II South Sectionals will only serve as motivation as the Warriors look to shake some demons and make a long postseason run.
Leading Medfield this season will be a trio of senior co-captains in center-mid Will Sievewright, winger Jack McCordic and striker John McNeil, whose 2018 season was cut short due to a torn ACL - but the expectation is to have him back by the end of this season.
Asked about his team’s current structure, McCordic acknowledges that there is a lot of work to be done when it comes to replacing a number of starters from last season’s team. However, despite work needing to get done, having a “rebuild year” is the last thing McCordic and his teammates plan on doing in 2019.
“We graduated a ton of seniors last year, and have 15-17 open spots on varsity,” said McCordic. “The returning players and new guys trying to make the team have all looked great this summer. We don’t want to take a year to ‘rebuild.’ I think we have enough talent that if everyone works hard and plays together we will have a very solid squad. Our goals for the team are to make the state tournament and hopefully win the TVL large title.”
Another key returning impact player, senior midfielder Jake Sherman, concurs with McCordic’s assessment.
“Some goals for us this season are to show everyone that we are a strong team, even though we lost a lot of talent,” said Sherman. “We also want to prove that we have the potential to go far in the tournament.”
When it comes to avenging the defeat to Westwood, both Sherman and McCordic agree that the postseason loss will serve as some motivation. However, both say that they expect their group to get up for every game, especially whenever the Warriors take on rivals such as Medway, DS, Norton, and Westwood.
“I think all of our returning players have been thinking about that game and want revenge,” said McCordic. “However, we also want another shot at teams like Medway, DS, and Norton. The extra emotion that comes with TVL rivalry games elevates the level of play, as long as we can keep our heads. If we let emotions run wild and commit stupid fouls, our team will pay for it. Last year’s games serves as motivation to get our energy up and play with some grit.”
“We definitely knew it was gonna be tough to beat a team for a third time going into that playoff game, so there definitely is the thought of revenge on our minds,” said Sherman. “All of our players are very smart guys and will be able to control their emotions throughout the game and let their play do the talking.”
For funny and insightful sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter @fLAno0.
