Sting of playoff losses spurs quests for glory

Globe preseason Division 1 favorite Acton-Boxboro, led by 2007 Gatorade Massachusetts Girls’ Soccer Player of the Year Hayley Brock, has reloaded for another run at a title. The Colonials just missed repeating as state champions, losing to Minnechaug, 1-0, in the title game last season.

“The girls talk about [the loss],’’ first-year coach Lee Billiard said. “We want to get back there and amend for what happened last year.’’ That task will be easier with the Penn State-bound Brock around for the whole season. She was limited to seven games in 2008 as she joined the US under-17 team for the FIFA World Cup in New Zealand. Billiard is understandably excited to have the Colonials star back.

“Hayley is a tremendous player with a tremendous attitude,’’ Billiard said. “She brings a lot of experience for the younger girls and she just makes others better.’’

Brock’s work ethic has become contagious, as her teammates are practicing harder than ever. “Teams are going to work extra hard against us, so we’re going to have to work harder than ever before,’’ Billiard said. “We recognize that everyone sees us as a threat.’’

Another threat for the Division 1 crown will be Masconomet, which suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Westford in the North quarterfinals, 3-2. After a 17-1 regular season, the Chieftains played uncharacteristically unfocused defense.

“We allowed a couple soft goals,’’ coach Paula Yanakakis said. “We outplayed Westford, so it was a tough way to go.’’ The memory of that game is the focal point for the 2009 Chieftains, led by All-Star center midfielder Lucy Gildein and fellow senior captains Blair Shrewsbury and Lexi Dussi.

North champion Belmont is also still seeing red following last year’s elimination in the EMass final to Duxbury, 3-2. “We’re trying to avenge last year’s loss,’’ said coach Paul Graham. “It should motivate kids to carry on and keep the tradition of Belmont soccer.’’

According to Graham, the Marauders haven’t missed the state tournament in 18 years. There’s no reason to think Belmont won’t make it 19 straight, as it is led by junior outside midfielder Marissa Russo and returning All-Stars Laura Thurber and Claire Mackevicius. Thurber’s deadly corner kicks should complement the skill sets of Russo and Mackevicius.

Competing with the Marauders for the Middlesex League crown and a high tournament seed will be Winchester and longtime coach Chris Scanlon. The Sachems are seeking redemption in 2009, as they fell 1-0 to Westford in the North sectional semifinals.

The loss is “something that stayed with me for nine months,’’ said Scanlon, who is beginning his 32d campaign at the Sachems’ helm. “We had to wait to start over again.”

Two-time Middlesex League leading scorer Kayla Austin, whose 35 points a season ago placed her sixth in EMass, is off to a fantastic start in 2009. She scored three goals in the Sachem’s season opener, a 3-0 win over Burlington. With Austin’s skills and those of talented senior All-Stars Hillary Savoy and Julia Favorito, Scanlon knows that the Sachems will be on everyone’s radar.

“We have a target on our back,’’ Scanlon said. “We recognize that our opposition will be highly motivated to beat us.’’

Winchester isn’t the only team to feel as though they are playing the role of both hunter and hunted. For Duxbury, an unexpected Division 2 state championship as a 12th seed means that the Green Dragons will be a marked squad in 2009.

“Everyone wants to measure themselves against the state champs,” said Duxbury’s Emerson Coleman, the Globe’s Division 2 Coach of the Year. “Everybody marks that game on the schedule.” Preparing to play the Green Dragons means finding a way to slow All-Scholastic senior Caitlin Burke and fellow forward Melissa Gavin, who combined for 39 goals in 2008.

Newburyport understands the pressure that Coleman and the Green Dragons face. After all, the Clippers are two-time defending champions in Division 3. “We always have a target on our back,” coach Robb Connam said. “But after two consecutive state titles, the target is even bigger.”

However, there will be new teams gunning for Newburyport in 2009, as the Clippers are moving up to Division 2. Even with star Grace Curry returning from two ACL injuries and experienced goalies Lindsey Thomasz and Eleni Kachner tending the net, Connam has tempered expectations for the Clippers.

“Winning another state championship is unrealistic,” Connam said. “We’ll be playing schools three times our size.” But the Clippers have state tournament experience, something many other schools lack. If Newburyport gets into the tournament, their playoff pedigree should play a major factor in their run at a third straight title.

Experience will also be key for Whitman-Hanson. Star Samantha Mewis, a teammate of Brock’s last season in New Zealand, learned how to deal with pressure at the World Cup and will look to control the tempo for the Panthers.

“Samantha has a calming effect when she’s on the field,’’ coach David Floeck said. “She has the true mark of a great player, in that she makes others better.”

The rest of the Panthers will have to step up and contribute if they are to make a longer run in the postseason than a year ago. Without Mewis, Whitman-Hanson was knocked out in the Division 1 South quarterfinals by Marshfield, 1-0.

“They’re motivated, but they want to make their own mark,” Floeck said of this year’s team. “They want to push the envelope and go much further.”

Cohasset, fresh off of its best season in school history, would also like to see progress and improvement. The Skippers will be led by seniors Tori Lehr, Meredith Kelly, Megan Richardson, and Mackenzie Hart.

“I hear the older kids focusing on one game at a time,” said coach Deb Beal. “They say, ‘No one can take last year from us, so let’s get it done one game at a time.’ ”

Those words can apply to nearly every team in the area, as soccer squads all over EMass are hunting a playoff berth. The teams that will be successful will remember that the path to redemption needs to be traveled one game at a time.