'Pinch me because I can’t believe this is happening': Pembroke soccer moves to state final

WALPOLE − Adam Scott could only chuckle, insisting his players didn't need any more motivation ahead of encountering the bracket's top seed in the Division 3 Final 4.

You can't have too much, though, especially at this time of year.

One pregame text did just the trick. Scott, who's in his ninth season at the helm of the Pembroke High boys soccer team, received a message from legendary United States Men's National Team forward Clint Dempsey, who recorded a video wishing the Titans luck ahead of Tuesday's game.

The connection stems from Mike Cogburn, a local friend of the program who is involved with the community-based coalition Titans Against Drugs.

"I think he’s the greatest American player ever," Scott said of Dempsey. "These are things you just smile at. Pinch me because I can’t believe this is happening."

Dempsey's shoutout was merely the Titans' first "pinch me" moment of the evening. A crucial defensive stand by senior keeper Jack Eva in the final minute preserved No. 4 Pembroke's 2-1 dethroning of top-seeded Oakmont at Walpole High, advancing the Titans to their first appearance in the state final.

Pembroke (18-2-1) will oppose No. 3 Norwell on Saturday for the title. (Date and location to be announced.)

“We talked about writing history tonight," Scott said.

"It feels like a dream," senior forward Wil McManus said of advancing. "We had hundreds of fans here. It’s unbelievable. We’ve been working for this, for me at least, my whole life. We’ve been grinding this past year. We had some struggles early, but we figured it out. Now we’re here.”

More: Double crowns within reach: Norwell boys, girls soccer advance to Div. 3 state finals

Pembroke got on the board in the opening minute, specifically 28 seconds into play, as junior striker Colin Blake corralled the rebound of a well-struck boot on net and headed it past the disperse Oakmont defensive unit:

“If you were to write up how to start a game, that’s certainly how you’d do it," Scott said with a laugh.

The Titans carried the one-goal lead into the half, and built upon it in the 56th minute as an acrobatic header by league MVP Matt McAuliffe vaulted to the back of the net off a corner throw-in.

Oakmont (19-3) got a goal back in stoppage time to slice the Pembroke lead in half, but a diving effort by Eva averted a potential tie in the waning moments. After making the save, time expired as Eva, with the ball in his hands, waved the Pembroke midfielders to make a push up the field.

“I trust Jack completely," McManus said. "Our back line was dominant the entire game. We slipped up a little bit, but I had no worries.”

“We knew they weren’t going to go away," Scott said. "Oakmont, they’re a great team. They were there until the very end and made it really interesting for us in the last 10 seconds of the game.”

Pembroke, entering this season, was hit hard by graduation after being eliminated by Newburyport in last year's quarterfinals. The team lost starting keeper Jack Taylor, and a combined total of over 100 points between the standout core of Andrew Gleason, Declan Crowley and Ethan Sullivan, who did the heavy lifting in producing the team's 40-game regular-season winning streak that ended with a loss to Hingham on Oct. 10.

“If you were to tell me we would lose the guys we lost – who were amazing players, human beings and leaders – and come back here to make it further, I couldn’t be happier," Scott said. "It’s a real testament to, not me as a coach or some magic fairy dust I sprinkled on the boys, it’s them. The kids have this quality that they want to achieve more. They’re not happy with where we were. They want to break barriers.”

A clash for it all with the defending champ and next-door neighbor Norwell is where it all mounts.

“That’s the next task," Scott said. "Can you win one more? Can you go again? I’ll be behind these boys as much as possible because I feel like they can.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Pembroke boys soccer defeats Oakmont, gains first state-final spot