MANSFIELD – Fourth-seeded Greater New Bedford Voke clinched a trip to the Div. 3 boy’s soccer state championship with a 3-1 victory over No. 16 Scituate.
Greater New Bedford was playing in the Final Four for the first time since 2011. The Sailors (12-7-3) were a true Cinderella team of the tournament, knocking off top-seeded Medfield and then winning a 1-0 match against East Bridgewater in the Elite Eight, and making their first appearance of the tournament.
“I spoke to my Athletic Director after preseason camp was done and he said, I don’t know what it is, and how far we’re going to go, but this team’s special,” Greater New Bedford head Coach Henry Almeida said. “There’s just something about the camaraderie, and they’re just such a friend group that we have some opportunity, and that there’s not just one superstar on this team.”
The Sailors struck first as Iroko Aminbola scored from the right side of sophomore netminder Benjamin Viera in the 8th minute, which was very unlike the Bears to allow the first goal according to Head Coach Almeida.
“It was a role reversal for us, suffering a goal early,” Almeida said. “We haven’t played away from home in quite some time, so that was also new for us.”
In the 18th minute, the Bears tied it up as freshman Benjamin Pereira scored off an assist from Angel Martinez, and then the Bears took the lead in the final minute of the first half after he scored after bouncing off a group of players who crashed the net.
Mason Botelho sealed the game, and the trip to the finals with their third goal of the game in the 69th minute, which went unassisted.
The Bears will face second-seeded Norwell in the championship game. The Clippers reached the championship game in 2024 and fell to Dover-Sherborn.
