2024 MIAA Boys Soccer Championships: Newton North Completes Stunning Run; Oliver Ames Three-Peats; Dover-Sherborn, Cohasset, Sutton Prevail

The 2024 MIAA Boys Soccer Tournament began with a total of 212 teams across five divisions, and after playing out over a span of three weeks, five champions stood at the end.

Newton North High School completed a stunning run through the Division 1 bracket as the No. 31 seed, the lowest to win a championship in the MIAA Statewide Tournament era. Oliver Ames High School made it three consecutive championships, including back-to-back overtime thrillers. Cohasset High School joined Newton North in the first-time winners' circle, while Dover-Sherborn High School and Sutton High School got back to the top of the podium. 

The Division 3 final was played Friday, November 22 at Worcester State College, which also hosted the Division 1 and Division 2 title games on Saturday, November 23. The Divisions 4 and 5 winners were crowned Saturday, November 23 at Curry College in Milton.

Here is a recap of the championship matches, in the order they were played:

Division 3

Dover-Sherborn High School, the No. 2 seed in the 41-team bracket, netted a pair of goals in a five-minute span in the second half to break a scoreless draw and boost the Raiders to a 2-0 victory over No. 9 seed Norwell High School at Worcester State.

Wesley Bunn got the only goal D-S needed off a setup from his twin brother, Winston Bunn, to make it a 1-0 game in the 52nd minute. Then in the 57th minute it was Jack Martin’s turn to double the lead and send D-S on the way to its third overall championship and first since 2010. Patrick Driscoll earned the shutout.

Defending state champion Norwell was denied a third state championship in four seasons.

Dover-Sherborn High School, the 2024 MIAA Division 3 Boys Soccer state champion.

Division 4

With overtime looming, Sam Ellinger delivered the decisive goal in the 79th minute and Cohasset High School -- the No. 1 seed among 40 teams in the bracket -- stunned defending champion and No. 2 seed Lynnfield High School, 3-2, at Curry College.

Ellinger’s deciding goal came after the Skippers twice had to erase one-goal deficits on the way to the first championship in program history. Lynnfield’s Dillon Reilly and Cohasset’s Cian Casey traded first-half goals to make it 1-1 at intermission.

The Pioneers went up 2-1 just two minutes into the second half on a Joel Anthony goal, but Ty Rudnick’s rebound goal in the 61st minute pulled the Skippers even again and set up the late stages for Ellinger’s heroics.

Cohasset High School, the 2024 MIAA Division 4 Boys Soccer state champion.

Division 2

For the second time in as many years, Oliver Ames High School needed overtime in a state championship game. And once again, the Tigers found the net in the extra time, this time off the foot of Jackson Mercieri as the Tigers -- the No. 2 seed among 38 teams -- edged No. 4 Hingham High School, 1-0, at Worcester State.

Mercieri’s goal in the 102nd minute delivered Oliver Ames its third consecutive championship (and fourth overall) while denying the Harbormen their first title in program history.

Oliver Ames beat Wakefield Memorial in overtime last season and also won the title in 2022 in regulation time.

Oliver Ames High School, the 2024 MIAA Division 2 Boys Soccer state champion.

Division 1

Newton North High School completed the most stunning run of the statewide tournament era, and perhaps in MIAA history, by scoring twice in the first half and then holding off St. John’s High School for the program’s first state championship at Worcester State.

The Tigers entered the postseason as the No. 31 seed among 45 teams in the bracket after winning only four times in 18 regular-season games. What followed were six postseason wins in a span of three weeks, all of them by one goal. Two of the wins came on penalty kicks and another in overtime.

North didn’t need more than regulation after Seth Rao and Santiago Cuervo scored for a 2-0 lead at the break. Gabino Talisayon had a strong game in net, including a penalty kick stop for North. The No. 9 seed Pioneers cut the deficit in half on Anthony Soto’s goal, but couldn’t pull even and fell short of their first title since 2007.

The teams also met for the Division 1 title in 2001, a 2-1 St. John’s victory.

Division 5

After a scoreless regulation and two 15-minute overtimes, Sutton High School -- the No. 2 seed in the 48-team bracket -- converted all three of the penalty kick attempts it needed and pulled out a thriller against No. 4 Dearborn STEM Academy in the nightcap at Curry College.

After Mirko Dasilva nailed the first attempt for Dearborn, the Sammies rattled off successful kicks from Matthew Mulderig, Kyle Kosofsky and Brady Pitts. Meanwhile, goalie Paul Kuepker made a huge leg stop on the second attempt by the Wolverines, who then hit a crossbar and missed the net with their final two to clinch the victory for Sutton.

The Sammies capped off a double-championship day with the girls team by winning the program’s first state title since it rattled off four in a row from 2011-2014.

Dearborn, in its first year as the host school of the co-op team, was in the state final for the first time.