The Westwood Rovers 7/8th grade girls youth soccer team recently won their age bracket and were named state champions in the Massachusetts Tournament of Champions. The Massachusetts Tournament of Champions (MTOC) is a season-ending tournament that brings together age/gender group champions from participating town-based travel leagues from across the state.
This is the first time in the history of the tournament, which began in 2007, that a team from Westwood has won its age bracket at MTOC.
To qualify, the Rovers finished on top of their section with an impressive 6-3-1 record during the Boston Area Youth Soccer (BAYS) 10-week spring season. The girls then defeated all opponents in the BAYS playoff rounds to advance to the statewide MTOC, where they prevailed over challengers from West Bridgewater, Marshfield, Pepperell, and Berkshire Hills. In the finals, they won, 2-1, in a hard-fought battle over a team from Arlington; the game went all the way to nail-biting penalty kicks.
The Westwood Rovers team was coached by Terry Connaughton, Chris McCusker, Chris Hancock, and Derek DeStefano. Many of the 17 girls on the team have played in Westwood Youth Soccer since Kindergarten.
