In an unexpected playoff run, boys’ soccer has been the talk of the 2024 MIAA fall tournament. Starting ranked 31st in the bracket with a regular season record of 4-9-5, the team had their sights set on defying the odds. The team kicked off the tournament strong, defeating Winchester, ranked 34th, in the opening round. But the real shock came in the next game, when the Tigers upset Lowell, the #2 seed, to secure their spot in the round of 16. Continuing their momentum, the team took down Leominster to advance to the Elite 8.
Next up, the Tigers will face Natick, the #7 seed, Wednesday, Nov. 12. Their improbable journey has inspired fans and fueled the players to keep pushing forward. As senior Ross Toma, a captain along with senior Santi Cuervo, looks forward to the next round, he sat down with The Newtonite to reflect on the team’s underdog journey and determined mindset. Below are edited excerpts from our conversation.
Can you describe how the team has turned things around after a tough regular season? What changed in the playoffs?
We got off to a pretty rough start starting off the season 1-7, and we looked within ourselves, within the team, and realized that what we were doing wasn’t working. We tweaked our formation to play from a 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3, which is more conventional and potentially more familiar to a lot of the players. We also had some guys come in who did not play as much earlier in the season due to injuries and other factors. We had a mentality shift and started caring about each other and playing for each other, and I think that’s a lot of the reason why we started to go on a good run towards the end of the season and continue to get into playoffs.
What was the team’s mindset going into the game against Lowell? Did you feel any extra pressure?
It’s kind of strange, we were very confident that we would be evenly matched against them even though they were the two seed, we are the 31st seed, and it seems like it should have been a one-sided matchup. We played against Newton South and Weymouth, the first and third seeds, in the regular season and had very even games with them. So we knew that on any given day we are a solid match for any team, and we came in there with nothing to lose, and we came out with the results. We played really well defensively. Our goalkeeper bailed us out with two beautiful penalty saves and other saves from open play, and we came out victorious.
What made the difference in the game against Lowell?
What really made the difference was everyone was fighting for each other as a collective. Everyone was on top of their man, making tackles, and making the tough runs back to not let them score, and then we needed some luck to come out with the win. When you put hard work and luck together, good things happen.
How did the team prepare mentally and physically for the game against Leominster?
Even though we beat the number two seed, we still felt like the underdog, but we knew we could compete with anyone. We came out with the mentality of giving it everything we had and that “we can win this.”
What message would you give to your teammates as you prepare to play Natick?
Continue doing what we’ve been doing these past few games to continue to hold onto our momentum. Every game in playoffs gets progressively harder, so we have to be ready for that, but we know this team, and we’ve played them twice in the regular season. We have won 2-0 and we have lost 1-0, so we know we are right up there with them, and if we work harder than them, we will win.
Looking back at the season as a whole, do you think the early struggles make the playoff run more meaningful?
It’s really satisfying when people count you out and then you can prove them wrong. After playing our game against Winchester, some of the Winchester players were telling us that we were screwed against Lowell when we shook hands. To hear that and to go win that was so satisfying. I think being able to prove people wrong makes it very meaningful.
