Battle of the undefeateds: Murray's goals help Hingham girls soccer hang on vs. Hanover

HINGHAM — There's two sides to every coin.

That's a good way to describe Thursday's game between the Hingham and Hanover High girls soccer teams. Both came into the match with undefeated records, ensuring that the play was going to be stellar. Unfortunately, someone's '0' had to go.

Ultimately Hingham, which stands atop the Patriot League Keenan Division, handed Hanover, which leads the Patriot Fisher, its first loss of the season with a 2-0 win.

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“This was a very important win,” said Hingham head coach Mary-Frances Monroe. “Hanover is exceptional and we went into this game letting our team know that they are the best team we’re going to play in our league.”

Hingham's Claire Murray tries to squeeze through Whitman-Hanson's Savannah Kamperides and Whitman-Hanson's Alexis Cole during first half action of their game against Whitman-Hanson at Hingham High on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.
Hingham's Claire Murray tries to squeeze through Whitman-Hanson's Savannah Kamperides and Whitman-Hanson's Alexis Cole during first half action of their game against Whitman-Hanson at Hingham High on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.

The game was heavily contested throughout. Several corner kicks by Hingham (7-0-2) had the Hawks (6-1-1) on the ropes defensively most of the first half. It wasn’t until a corner kick by Hingham's Sophie Reale led to a penalty kick. With 6:45 left in the first half, Murray potted the PK to put Hingham up 1-0.

“She’s coming into her own,” said Monroe. “Her and Sophie have hit so many crossbars and posts this season. I think Claire told her (Sophie) in the beginning of the season she wasn’t scoring a lot of goals but was getting a lot of assists. But today was an important day for her to score."

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Murray’s second goal came in the second half, assisted by Reale with 12:18 remaining. It was a 'fantastic second goal' in the words of Monroe.

“We expected a really good game from them because they're one of the best teams in our league,” said Murray. “So to pull out a win is just awesome. Just shows that we’ve come far.”

Hingham's Sophie Reale finds the back of the net to give Hingham the 2-0 lead over Whitman-Hanson during second half action of their game against Whitman-Hanson at Hingham High on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.
Hingham's Sophie Reale finds the back of the net to give Hingham the 2-0 lead over Whitman-Hanson during second half action of their game against Whitman-Hanson at Hingham High on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.

Despite the big win, it's on to the next game for the Harborwomen.

“It’s just another game,” said Murray. “We take it game by game every single time. We’re focused on playing well as a team and being proud of our play.”

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She also praised her teammates for their stellar defensive play, especially senior goalkeeper Ella Stadtlander.

“Ella, she holds down our defense,” said Murray. “She’s very reliable. Our defensive line is a brick wall honestly. They work so well as a unit and I’m proud to have them as teammates.”

Hingham goalie Ella Stadtlander makes the save on a free kick during first half action of their game against Whitman-Hanson at Hingham High on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.
Hingham goalie Ella Stadtlander makes the save on a free kick during first half action of their game against Whitman-Hanson at Hingham High on Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2022.

Going into the highly anticipated matchup, Monroe saw the scouting report and was prepared for the Hawks offensive talent.

“We talked about transition in certain parts of the field,” said Monroe. “Making sure that their special players had a player near them. I think we did a really good job on what we did defensively.”

“I think going into this game we knew that we had a winning streak and wanted to keep that as long as we could,” said Hanover coach Mary Cullity. “Now we know that we’re beatable and we move forward to the next game.”

For the Hawks, they may have given up two scores, but their goalkeeper and captain Mia Pongratz finished with 11 saves. Pongratz, the VCU commit, received high praise from her coach after the game.

“Our goalkeeper is fantastic,” said Cullity. “The goals against this season has primarily been on penalty kicks or fouls from outside the box. In the game of play she usually comes up with a save nine out of 10 times.”

Both teams will remain at the top of their respective division and have another Patriot League game next. Hingham will look to keep their undefeated record alive on the road against Silver Lake Saturday. As for the Hawks, they’ll continue to be on the road against Scituate Monday.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Hingham High girls soccer remains undefeated after defeating Hanover