On a typically cold autumn night, the 2011 Billerica Boys Varsity Soccer Team prepared for what most thought would be the most important game of the season. The winner of this under-the-lights clash against rival Chelmsford would all but lock up the Merrimack Valley Championship. The boys played hard, but ended the night in a hard-fought, yet frustrating 0-0 tie. Little did these boys realize that their season was only just beginning.
A few non-conference games later, the conference was decided. Billerica fell short. However, their regular season was successful enough that they earned a home game in the preliminary round of the MIAA state tournament. These boys had an opportunity to do something that Billerica Soccer has not accomplished for an extremely long time: win a state tournament game on our home turf. And the boys did just that by defeating Cambridge 1-0. It is a memory that many an alumni have not experienced. There was no MVC title this year, but a Joe Hill goal and a hell of an effort by everyone else earned them this incredibly special memory.
Next came a game on foreign turf. The upstart indians were headed into the city to take on the overall number one seed in the tournament: Brighton. Let us not forget that Billerica boys were the 16th seed in the tournament, and for any of you that follow NCAA's March Madness basketball tournament, 16 seeds just don't beat number 1 seeds. Well, this 16 seed beat "#1" by a score of 1-0. With an early goal off of a Graham Hughes free kick, smothering defense, and a few huge saves by Ryan Santarpio, the big yellow bus that headed back to Billerica was a loud one that night.
Two days later, the boys took their travelling victory circus to Peabody. Yes, Peabody, who already defeated the boys this season on senior day. Peabody probably thought they were spoiling our post game senior celebration that Saturday. Little did they know Billerica was about to spoil their whole season. With goals that included a Wayne Rooney-like blast by Chris Sanchez, and once again, that trademark frustrating defense by all ten field players and a few more clutch Santarpio saves, it was free pizza and victory car horns the whole way home.
So now the pressure's off, right? North State Semifinals at Lynn's Manning Field-Billerica's just happy to be here, right? Nope. The legs are sore but the hearts wanted more. The memories are already countless, but now these kids smelled the prize. They wanted a trophy...a big one. Each time they won, all they wanted next was to win again. Bring on Chelsea, another team from the city who had no idea how to handle the desire, and style of play that Billerica brought to the field. The final score was Billerica 4 and Chelsea 2. You read that correctly: the boys pumped in 4 goals in the Massachusetts State Semifinals. How bad did they want this? That bad.
North State Finals: Billerica versus Masconomet. What's that? You've never heard of the town of Masconomet? That's because it's not a town, it's a regional high school that services several towns. Nice talent pool. I'm just saying...
First half: 0-0.
Second half: Masconomet strikes first. This is the first time in the whole tournament that Billerica trailed at any point. They were suddenly in unfamiliar territory. Were the boys scared? frustrated? giving up? Nah, they scored just minutes later to tie it up. And then they scored again to take the lead. And yes, Masconomet tied it up. Onto overtime. While the boys remained confident and their desire stronger than ever, one thing was evident. Fatigue was finally setting in. Billerica's home game against Cambridge was in the preliminary round. Masconomet, however, had a bye. In other words, Billerica played one more game than Masconomet. Finally, desire fell short. With 30 seconds remaining in the first overtime, Masconomet scored the golden goal. The Indians were exhausted, sore, and in pain. "I can barely feel my legs" one out of breath defender wearily said. That says it all.
So the 16 seed fell one goal short of becoming North State Finals Champions. But the 2011 Billerica Boys Varsity Soccer team did more than finally win a home game in the tournament. They shocked the state. They made the top seeds cry. They frustrated superstars. They made opposing coaches scream. They ruined perfect seasons. They were 2011's version of the 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team, right? Wrong. Here's the difference: if you remember, when the USA team defeated the Soviet Union, the call was "do you believe in miracles?" But this soccer team from Billerica was not a miracle, and they certainly were not a fluke. They were a damn good soccer team who earned everything they achieved. And when they were finally taken down, they went down like champions, leaving blood, sweat, tears...everything, on the field. They had nothing left but brand new memories that few of us will ever experience. Congratulations, boys.
