LYNN – With the season on the line, St. John’s Prep turned to its captains.

Led by Garrison Murphy, James Minor, and Finn McCabe, top-seeded SJP defeated Concord-Carlisle, 4-1, at Manning Field in Lynn. The victory sends the Eagles to the state championship for the first time since winning the title in 2022.

This was a rematch from last year’s quarterfinal. For the second consecutive year, the clock struck midnight for Concord-Carlisle against the Eagles. With the win, SJP (19-1-2) advances to play the winner of Natick-Newton South for the Division 1 state title.

“All the credit to Concord-Carlisle, who kept it tight all the way,” said Eagles coach Dave Crowell. “For us, all season long, we thought we would earn the right to be here. So far, we’ve gotten it done.”

Concord-Carlisle struck first when sophomore Ben Hackman capitalized on tripped-up Eagles defenders for a breakaway, taking a 1-0 lead courtesy of a picturesque shot to the back of the net ten minutes into the game.

But SJP did not trail for long. In the 24th minute, McCabe seized control of the ball following a flurry of activity near the Concord-Carlisle net – and used a right-left strike to pound it in and tie the score, 1-1.

“We know what it’s like to play through adversity,” said McCabe. “We’ve been working nonstop, our back line and goalie have been amazing, and we’ve earned this. Some of us have been teammates since youth soccer. These are my brothers, and we’re going to go out with a bang.”

In the opening minutes of the second half, Minor made the most of his next scoring opportunity. Following a corner kick, he gained possession at the top of the box, then drilled a shot beyond the reach of Patriots goalkeeper Nico Kocic in the game’s 45th minute to take the 2-1 lead.

“Falling down a goal put us in a different mentality,” said Minor, whose older brother Will helped bring a state title to SJP three years ago. “We all knew this would be a difficult game. We proved that, no matter the score, we can finish.”

Ahead by a goal, Hutchinson then seized the moment. Creating open space at the 15-yard line, he scored off a left strike to the left side of the net at the game’s 60th minute to extend the lead to 3-1.

Three minutes after Hutchinson’s goal, Murphy received a pass from senior Owen Beeny and sailed a shot into the net for a 4-1 advantage.

“It’s the second time we’ve down 1-0 all season, but it gave us a new fire,” said Murphy, who was just named an All-American by the United States Coaches Association. “We played with a fire, we were knocking at the door, and the momentum turned. Now we have to go all the way. We’ll be dialed in and ready to go.”

“We trained a lot all week for their high line and thought we could get through, and we did,” said Concord-Carlisle coach Ray Pavlik. “Losing Timmy Stone was a tough one, but we had our chances. They’re a very good team and they fought hard.”

A key to the Eagles’ success was senior keeper Matthew Droggitis, who notably made a right-leg kick save in the second half from right outside the crease.

“Like Coach Crowell always says, I treat the game like it’s 0-0,” said Droggitis. “Now we get to play for a state chip in our very last game as seniors. That’s what we’ve worked for all season.”