EXETER – Coe-Brown was hoping to make a return trip to the Division II girls’ soccer championship, but McKenna Maguire put a stop to that quickly. Maguire, Hollis-Brookline’s senior forward, scored four goals in the first half to lift the No. 1 defending champion Cavaliers to a 5-0 victory over the No. 4 Bears. 

“It feels pretty good. I think my goals before it just gave me the adrenaline to keep going and score more,” Maguire said.“Especially since we were up as a team, I knew we just wanted to keep scoring and getting the score higher. So I think we just all played great.”

Coe-Brown (11-4-3) knew what it was facing. Hollis-Brookline (18-0) defeated the Bears in last year’s championship game, 2-1, and won a commanding 6-0 match on Oct. 8. 

“Three years ago, we took the eventual champion to PK’s in the quarterfinals, the last year we played for a title. This year, we're right back in the final four. So it’s all on the shoulders of our seniors. This year, they’ve been phenomenal,” said Coe-Brown head coach Josh Hils. “Just proud of the girls and what they’ve been able to accomplish this season.”

The Black Bears had better chances in the second half but the four-goal mountain was too tall to climb in the cold rain and ultimately lost 5-0. Maguire assisted on the fifth goal.

“This year, if there’s one thing we didn't do well, we just weren't consistent as our results showed,” Hils said. “But I think if we can embrace being a more disciplined team with some of the fundamentals and stay focused on that, I think we'll be okay.”

The defending champion Cavaliers entered the game undefeated by a large margin – scoring 98 goals and only conceding four through the regular season and playoffs – so the Bears had to play a near-perfect game. 

The Cavaliers started strong with a goal early, five minutes into the game, after Maguire dribbled past her mark down the right side of the box and snuck her shot into the near post’s bottom corner, assisted by senior forward Lilly Bouchard. 

Less than three minutes later, Maguire nearly scored her second as she sent a ball into the middle of the box on a counter-attack by Bouchard, again, but was called offside as the ball hit the back of the net.

The Cavaliers’ quick build-up play was a big challenge for the Bears’ back line that tried to contain their chances.

Coe-Brown’s senior goalkeeper Sadie Scruton came up with a handful of clutch saves to keep the scoreline at 1-0, but another through ball for Maguire led to another one-on-one match-up in the box from which Maguire did not miss.

Maguire would score two more from a through ball by junior midfielder Molly Reardon, to get a first-half hat-trick and take her team into halftime with a lofty lead. Her fourth was on an incredible shot that curved into the left side of the goal. 

Offensively the Bears struggled to gain momentum and break through the midfield, and did not force the opposing sophomore goalkeeper, Maya Blackman, to make any saves in the first half.

The Cavaliers’ defense was stopping Coe-Brown’s attack in transition, whether on the ground or through the air, and the half saw them down, 4-0. Maguire stayed on fire and remained unselfish in the second half to provide an assist to senior defender Zoe Kreick early in the second half. 

“I think our chemistry is amazing. I think our ball control through the midfield and the defense is just amazing. We all know each other very well, in our abilities, what we can and can't do with the ball,” said Maguire. 

The No. 1 Cavaliers will face the No. 2 Bow Falcons (14-3-1) in the D-II championship on Friday at 5 p.m. at Exeter’s Bill Ball Stadium.

“I think we just went preparing all season for this moment, knowing that we could do it in every practice and game. We just worked harder and harder throughout the season, and every game, every game, we became our best,” said Maguire. “I think tonight we played our best out of all games. And I think next game we can even do better.”

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com