Dog's end season in Hock Cup Semi-Final

The Bulldog Boys Varsity Soccer team earned 2nd place in the Hockomock Davenport regular season during this pandemic-shortened season, earning a regular season mark of 5-2-3.  In lieu of a state tournament, the team was invited to participate in a Hockmock League Cup that included the top four teams from each of the Hockomock League's divisions- the Kelley-Rex and the Davenport. 

As the 2nd place team in the Davenport, the Bulldogs drew King Philip- the Kelley-Rex 3rd place team.  The game was a classic high school soccer contest featuring great defending, excellent possession and plenty of attacking by both sides.  The visiting KP Warriors scored first, taking advantage of an early Bulldog miscue in the back.  However, the Bulldogs did not let that bother them as they played one of their most complete games of the season against the upset-minded Warriors. 

The 'Dogs would finally got on the board to even things up in the 3rd quarter when the Bulldogs collected a clearance off a corner kick, worked it around the back and found Erik Valdovinos ('22) who beat his defender to the endline and found Jake McCabe ('23) for a tidy finish.  

The game would remain tied through the rest of regulation as well as through two 10-minute sudden victory overtime periods that featured MANY Bulldog scoring chances and KP hitting the Bulldog crossbar.  The game would be decided on penalty kicks. 

The shootout started in dramatic fashion as Bulldog goalkeeper Giovanni Ruggeri ('23) shot the first kick for the Bulldog and calmly finished it. He then took to keep the Bulldog goal and made a HUGE save on the first KP shooter. Valdovinos, Dylan Baird ('22) and Barrie ('21) joined Ruggeri in the "made" category, leading the Bulldogs to a dramatic 4-2 PK win. 

Got Twitter? Here's a great video recap of the shootout. 

Things didn't go as well for the Bulldogs as they headed to undefeated Kelley-Rex champion Milford on Friday night to battle for a spot in the Hock Cup Final.  The 'dogs came out of the gates a bit sluggish and a high-flying Milford Hawks team took full advantage, ultimately downing the 'dogs 5-0. A Jake McCabe free-kick goal was waived off and was the Bulldog's best chance of the night. 

The team has nothing to be ashamed of as this season turned around the program's fortunes, posting a final mark of 6-3-3 and establishing a great foundation for the next couple of years.  Shout out to our seniors who were the heart and soul of this team- Will Keefe, TJ McCabe, Matt Giglio, Nam Pham, Wes Lee, Matt McDonough, Huy Hong, Colton Mirliani, Patrick O'Leary, Dom Sica, Abdul Barrie, and Ryan Mullen.