With 15 minutes left on the clock, Dennis-Yarmouth trailed, 3-1, in the Division 4 field hockey semifinals. But the Dolphins were not discouraged.
Coach Leslie LaFronz gave her players a pep talk, triggering a comeback that propelled second-seeded D-Y to its first state final since 2018 with a 4-3 overtime win over No. 3 Cohasset (15-4-1) at Bridgewater-Raynham High School.
Dennis-Yarmouth (16-5) will face No. 5 Frontier (15-4-2) in Saturday’s final at Burlington High (12 p.m.).
“The confidence that we had [in] our stickwork and that we could handle the ball,” said LaFronz, in her second season at the helm. “We started to believe we were able to outstick them.”
Junior captain Leah Woodward scored twice, fellow junior captain Jenna Richard fired in the tying goal in the fourth quarter, and senior Alaina Manuel netted the winner, off a penalty corner, with four minutes left in OT.
“It’s been so long since we’ve made it this far, and everybody didn’t give up,” Manuel said. She found an open window as Cohasset junior goalie Alison Shultz slid out to block freshman Aurora Quenneville, who passed the ball to Manuel.
“All I had to do was get it in,” she said.
Cohasset’s Grace Kiernan scored midway through the first quarter. Sophomore Emily Regan doubled the lead with 21 seconds left in the first, and Liv Appel netted the third goal at the end of the third quarter.
It seemed like Skippers had outpowered D-Y, but the Dolphins never relented.
Woodward, who returned to play Thursday, initiated the comeback less than four minutes into the fourth quarter, followed by Richard’s goal a minute later.
“They wanted it, they did the right things, they trained, they believed in me,” LaFronz said.
Division 4 State
Frontier 3, Monomoy 1 — Addie Harrington rifled in a pair of first-half goals, and the fifth-seeded Red Hawks (16-4-2) tacked on an insurance goal with three minutes remaining to pull off the upset of op-seeded Monomoy (15-6-1) at Marlborough High. Frontier advances to face No. 2 Dennis-Yarmouth (17-5) in the final.
Division 2 State
Hingham 4, Canton 1 — The top-seeded Harborwomen (20-1-1) surged to their first state final, striking twice in the third quarter to oust No. 3 Canton (16-2-4) in a semifinal at Bridgewater-Raynham High.
Hingham will take on defending champion Somerset Berkley in Saturday’s final (Burlingtn High, 2:30 p.m.).
Canton controlled early possessions but struggled to break through the Hingham D, settling for long-range attempts. The Harborwomen found their rhythm in the second quarter when senior Caitlin Patten (2 goals) scored off an assist from co-captain Sam Ruddick.
“In the past, we struggled with getting scored on first,” said Patten, who also knocked in a rebound in the fourth quarter. “But this year, I feel like we’ve really improved. We pick up momentum faster.”
Sophomore Libby Baxter and senior Ella O’Neill each added goals during fast transition plays that left Canton chasing. Baxter even had to glance up from the turf to confirm her shot crossed the line.
“All I was thinking was to shoot it, and I wasn’t expecting it to go in,” Baxter said. “I was just so surprised.”
Hingham junior Molly McDonald held Canton scoreless until senior captain Shannon Lane converted a penalty corner with two minutes left.
“We executed our corners well, I think we just didn’t finish,” Canton coach Chrissy O’Connor said. “[McDonald] played tremendous.”
Coach Susan Petrie said Hingham’s balanced roster was the key to the win.
“We’re a hard team to scout because we don’t have a superstar,” said Petrie. “My offense pushes the defense, which makes them better and vice-versa.”
“It feels surreal,” Petrie said. “I’m so happy that it happened to this group.”
Somerset Berkley 3, Nashoba 1 — It was chaos in front of the cage. The Nashoba goalie was on her back, players jockeying for position were toppling over each other, sticks flying.
Then, Somerset Berkley senior captain Ella Vaught emerged from the crowd with her hands in the air — and the ball settled in the back of the net behind her. With 15 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Blue Raiders had the foothold they had wanted.
Vaught’s handiwork — plus extra tallies from Julie Pacheco and Ryan Crook — provided the fueld as the third-seeded Blue Raiders (21-1) took down No. 2 Nashoba (19-1-1) in a semifinal at Foxborough High.
“It’s so exciting,” said Vaught. “It’s always good to put up a lead. I feel like it gets our team to come together and play more calmly, instead of frantic.
“Our team works really well together. This is the goal – we want to go all the way.”
If SB wants to repeat, it will have to tackle No. 1 seed Hingham.
“We’ve been in this situation before, and most of .these kids are returning … so they know what it’s like to be at that game,“ said Somerset Berkley coach Jen Crook. ”We lost four to graduation last year, so we have some new people. They’re gelling together, filling those voids from last year.”
Evan Walsh reported from Foxborough High. Alexandria Evans also contributed.
Alexa Podalsky can be reached at alexa.podalsky@globe.com.