Close call: Duxbury prevails in OT
Apparently the 90th time is the charm.
Duxbury beat Billerica, 14-13, in overtime to hand the Indians a heartbreaking loss in the Division 1 East final at Harvard Stadium last night. It was the Dragons' fifth straight state title.
Gus Quinzani netted the winner two minutes into overtime to seal the win, giving Duxbury just its third lead of the game.
"Thank god that thing went in," Quinzani said.
It was Duxbury's 90th MIAA win in a row, having not lost an in-state match since the 2003 state final.
Billerica led by one or two goals for most of the game before Quinzani ended their postseason run for the second year in a row, following up on last year's semifinal win in which he also scored the deciding goal.
"I feel great for Gus, he's been in the shadow of his brother [Max] for all these years," said Duxbury coach Chris Sweet. "His brother scored a heck of a lot more points than him, but none of them were as important as that one right there.
"He's the guy you want to have the ball when you're in overtime."
Duxbury took just its second lead of the game with 38 seconds to play, when Derek Sweet netted the go-ahead goal that looked like it would be the winner. But Jeff Scarfo threw a momentary wrench in the Dragons' plans, scoring 17 seconds later to force overtime. It was Billerica's second one-goal loss to Duxbury this season - the Indians lost, 11-10, April 28.
Billerica coach Chris Burns said it showed the strength of his program to keep pace with a team like Duxbury.
"Obviously, we're just proud of how the kids played," he said. "It's tough. We really were up pretty much the whole game. There were times early when they made a run and we answered right back and responded, and that's just the leadership we've had all year to be able to respond."
Billerica was led by Grant Whiteway, who scored four goals. Jeff Carfo, Adam Foss, and Greg Melaugh added two apiece for the third-ranked Indians, who ended their season at 17-5.
Billerica opened the first quarter on fire, getting two quick goals past Dan Buonagurio in barely more than a minute. Foss struck first for the Indians, followed by Melaugh's goal at 10:52.
But for the Dragons, it was the 26th shot that counted against a team that gave them a run for their money - and threatened their five-year streak.
"They're as well a coached team as we've seen all year. They deserved to win this just as much as we did," Sweet said.
Duxbury's offense was led by Scott Austin, who finished with five goals and the assist on Quinzani's winner. Craig Sullivan led the defense for the top-ranked Dragons (22-2).
