COHASSET – Ah, the good old days. Cohasset High boys soccer coach Jim Willis remembers them, even if his players don’t.

The Skippers had a history of advancing to the MIAA state semifinals. They advanced to this round four years in a row, from 2016 to 2019, winning the Southern Section Division 4 crowns under the old playoff system. Cohasset reached just one state final during that run, losing to Monson in overtime in 2016, but that period of sustained excellence was a badge of honor.

COVID wiped out the 2020 playoffs, and since the new statewide system was adopted in 2021, the Skippers’ once-familiar playoff scenario had become a thing of the past. Cohasset had stumbled in Div. 4 quarterfinal appearances in three straight seasons, losing on penalties to Frontier Regional in 2021 and by a single goal in 2022 (against eventual champion South Hadley) and 2023 (upset by Monomoy as the No. 1 seed ).

Now, finally, another Final four beckons.

Thanks to goals from the usual suspects – a hat trick from Cian Casey and a double from Nathan Askjaer – the Skippers finally cleared the quarterfinal hurdles on Thursday night, beating No. 8 Northeast Metro Voke, 5-2. Top-seeded Cohasset (17-4-2) will face No. 4 East Boston (12-4-4) in the semifinals, most likely Monday or Tuesday at a neutral site.

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“It’s been a long time,” Willis said. “Three years in a row (losing) in this round has been tough. We’re excited. This is what we wanted. Our goal all season was to be ranked in the top four so we could host this match on this ground.”

“I can’t even describe how good it feels,” senior guard Wylie Gardiner said. “I was on the team all four years of high school and lost in the exact same round for three years. To finally win is amazing.”

Northeast Metro (17-1-4) didn’t make it easy for the Skippers, twice cutting a two-goal deficit to one, at 2-1 and 3-2, before Cohasset pulled away on two late goals from Casey. , the first with 21 minutes to go, the second with less than five minutes to go.

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Trailing 2-1, visitors Wakefield could have equalized from the penalty spot 18 minutes from the end of the first half, but Gustavo Teixeira smashed his attempt into the crossbar of the football posts behind the net.

“I’m pretty confident in the penalty shootout,” Gardiner said. “I save most of the people I’m blamed for. I just have to remember that every time I’m in their heads, they’re not in mine.”

“It’s huge,” Willis said of the miss. “It changes a lot if it’s 2-2. At that point we dodged a huge bullet. If it came back to 2-2, who knows? Even if we responded all year. They could have said, ‘OK, now we have a 60 minute game instead of 80 minutes.

Willis said the difference this season in overcoming the obstacle is that the Skippers, who have 15 seniors, are “older and more confident.”

They are certainly confident in their goal-scoring prowess, and for good reason. Askjaer, who was just selected to the All-New England team by Eastern Mass. Soccer Coaches Association, are up to 25 goals this campaign after scoring 34 last season. His compatriot Casey now has 14. Add Michael Sheehan’s nine goals and the Skippers can submit their opponents from several angles.

Cohasset scored 13 goals in three playoff rounds, and Askjaer (6), Casey (5) and Sheehan (2) did all the damage. Casey actually missed the round of 16 win over Excel Academy due to illness, but you’d never have known it watching him on Thursday.

“It’s his second day back and three goals,” Willis marveled. “He and Nathan play really well against each other. The key for us is because Nathan takes so much attention (defensively), we need the other guys to step up, and Cian and Sheehan do that. have done for us.”

As for Askjaer, what can you say at this stage? He has been an all-state pick in each of the last two seasons and showed off his skills in this one. He opened the scoring by running down the right wing, cutting inside and firing a left-footed shot. After Northeast Metro’s missed PK, he made it 3-1 with a thunderous strike from about 25 yards out.

Willis calls him the team’s “force of nature” and “cheat code.”

With two goals and an assist, Askjaer is at 98 career points. “We haven’t had a 100-point scorer since the ’80s,” Willis said. “That would be good. We’ll keep working and see if we can get it for him.”

Personal goals are all well and good, but Askjaer, who could run track in college, is focused on securing the program’s first-ever state crown.

“We’re trying to make the history of the program,” he said. “There’s a lot of (Cohasset) teams that have really come together. I think we’re a different group. There’s a lot of seniors and there’s a lot of passion. Everyone is raring to go. ‘train tomorrow It just means another one.

This article was originally published on The Patriot Ledger: Cohasset High boys soccer defeats Northeast Metro in quarterfinals