Norwood Field Hockey Advances to EMass. Division I Semifinals-November 9, 1984

Coach Cathy Shachoy’s Undefeated Squad Posts 18th Shutout While Awaiting Team’s First Goal Against and Coach’s Due Date

NORWOOD — The question of the week at Norwood High School was whether the field hockey team would surrender its first goal of the season before head coach Cathy Shachoy gave birth to her first child. That question remained unresolved as Norwood advanced to the EMass. Division I semifinals with a hard-fought 1–0 victory over Hingham. The semifinals in Middleboro were scheduled for the following day—which, coincidentally, was Shachoy’s due date.

“I’m taking the situation day by day,” said Shachoy, whose team did not allow a single shot on goal in recording its 18th shutout of the season. “Our record has been a real credit to (goalie) Julie O’Brien and the whole team. Our attackers are keeping the ball in our opponents’ end and away from our defensive people, and our links are really supporting well.”

Earlier in the season, O’Brien was called upon to make 21 saves against Milton, while Norwood battled Walpole to a 0–0 tie, representing the only blemish in an 18–0–1 season expected to be Shachoy’s last as head coach. “Today,” Shachoy added, “we really dug in on defense. Our midfielders played very well. Melinda Moleon—nothing got by her—and Carol Moynihan at center half did a good job keeping the ball on attack.”

Disallowed Goal and Defensive Dominance

If not for 12 outstanding saves by Hingham’s junior goaltender, Donna Towle, the Mustangs would have won by a wider margin, holding a commanding 15 to 0 advantage in penalty corner opportunities.

Norwood briefly thought it held a 2–0 lead at halftime. April Troiani opened the scoring 17 minutes into the contest by putting in a rebound after Towle made initial saves on Jessica Breen and Andrea Topping. With five minutes remaining in the first half, Allison Mahan drove a long hit from the left corner that bounced off Towle and into the net. However, at halftime, officials Debbie Hill and Jackie Diggs conferred and disallowed Mahan’s goal after ruling it did not strike an offensive player in the attacking zone within the circle. To avoid a potential protest, both teams agreed to replay the final five minutes of the half.

“We knew the goal wasn’t legal,” Shachoy noted. “The protest should have been made at the time, but we agreed to replay it because there’s no way we’d let it stand.”

Hingham coach Meredith Gordon, whose 13–4–3 squad had allowed just two goals all season prior to the matchup, praised her team’s resilience. “I really didn’t expect to be here this season with only two starters coming back from last year,” Gordon said. “We had trouble generating offense all season, and Norwood is very strong and quick. I just thought Towle was awesome all year.” Gordon also commended the play of left halfback Leslie Bonnyman and midfielders Tina Burke, Gwen Hall, and Anna Wolfe.

The victory marked a repeat heartbreak for Hingham, which Norwood had previously eliminated in double overtime in the previous year’s semifinals.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger