The road to the MIAA Division 1 boys soccer state championship runs through Danehy Field this fall.
Top-seeded Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School begins postseason play on its home field Monday at 5 p.m. against the winner of Saturday afternoon’s preliminary round contest between No. 32 Chelmsford and No. 33 Brockton. CRLS faced neither squad during the regular season.
“I think we’re pretty confident about [the top seed],” senior midfielder and captain Ben Richards said. “Obviously it’s not something our program has a huge history of doing, but our group has had confidence. We’re treating it like a whole new season that we have to be ready for.”
The Falcons (11-1-3) enter the round of 32 on a nine-match winning streak where they outscored opponents 32-5. CRLS started the year with ties in three of its first four matches and a loss to Lincoln-Sudbury — the No. 3 seed in the tournament — in early October.
Eight of the nine teams CRLS topped in its late-season surge qualified for the postseason, including Wayland, the No. 2 seed in Division 2, and top-20 Division 1 teams Newton South, Winchester and Belmont. Earlier in the season, the Dual County League champs beat No. 5 Wellesley and drew against No. 2 Concord-Carlisle and No. 7 Newton North.
“For us right now, it’s just continuing the things we’ve been doing,” said first-year coach Olf Mouyaka. “I have the privilege of coaching a group of kids who’ve played together for a long time.”
Despite being the top seed, The Boston Globe ranked the Falcons fifth in its most recent Top 20 poll, behind Lincoln-Sudbury and Boston College High — another Division 1 team — and a duo of Division 3 teams.
Team chemistry key
Mouyaka, who has taught French in the Cambridge public schools since 2023, previously served as junior varsity coach at CRLS. He was an assistant coach at UMass Dartmouth, head coach of the varsity boys at Milford High School in New Hampshire, and coached with the New England Revolution’s academy. He took over for Niko Emack, who coached the Falcons for two seasons (disclosure: Emack is a member of Cambridge Day’s board of directors). Emack’s first team won its preliminary-round game as the No. 32 seed. Last year, they reached the quarterfinals as the No. 9 seed.
What separates the Falcons, both coach and captain said, is their depth and chemistry.
“What makes us effective is our ability to be able to rotate,” Mouyaka said. “The guys coming in don’t drop the level. We have a number of players who play well. I know that’s been effective.”
“This year is really a year where everyone has so much respect for each other,” Richards added. “There’s no toxicity within the group … everyone’s just trying to bring out the best in each other.”
Distributed scoring, strong defense
The team’s leading scorers are juniors Elias Hyland (13 goals, 6 assists), Kirubel Tilahun (9 goals, 1 assist) and Mathias Asnake (7 goals, 7 assists). Richards (3 goals, 2 assists) and classmate Noam Kilian man the middle of the field.
Junior goalkeeper Winslow Lively posted six shutouts, including five in the past eight games.
In the week-plus layoff between the regular-season finale and Monday’s playoff contest, CRLS practiced hard with extra emphasis on fitness. As the season progressed, Richards noticed increased interest in the team. Teachers and classmates congratulated them on the top seed, and crowds steadily increased.
“Knowing there’s going to be a couple hundred people is motivation,” Richards said, “and for the other team, if we get a few early, it can be demoralizing. What’s really helped us is not having one player that does it all. We trust our teammates, make the right reads and don’t play hero ball.”
A stronger
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