BOSTON — When Methuen/Tewksbury needed her most, Lydia Barnes was there to deliver.
Barnes pitched a shutout, corralling 18 saves, while Sammy Ryan and Ella Duffy found the back of the net as No. 6 Methuen/Tewksbury captured the Division 1 state championship with a 2-0 win over Archbishop Williams on Sunday evening at the TD Garden.
The win capped off an unbeaten season for the Red Rangers and provided the program with its first championship since 2019.
“We worked so hard every day on and off the ice. Watching film, in the weight room, the girls watch a ton of film,” said Red Rangers coach Ryan Sheehy. “They deserve this. The seniors worked hard the last four years. Everyone put the time and effort in. They love this game. They deserve it.”
It was a fitting way for the Red Rangers season to come to a conclusion. They allowed just 12 goals on the season en route to their unbeaten mark. Barnes’ 21 saves on Saturday left her with over 1,000 for her career. While state championships are always special for the victor, this one carried more significance. Tears rained down on faces across the Red Rangers team, including Duffy, one of the team’s captains. The late Dave O’Hearn, who manned the bench for the Red Rangers for three seasons until succumbing to pancreatic cancer on July 29 of last summer, was at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
“Being able to do it for (the supporters) and for Dave’s family, getting to see that and the impact he had on us as players, it just means everything to me,” Duffy said.
After a scoreless first period, the Red Rangers jumped in front late in the second due to some fortune. A tenacious effort by Ryan kept the puck in the Bishops’ end and her backhand shot snuck through a clear attempt from Bishops’ goaltender Maggie Shea to give the Red Rangers a 1-0 lead.
“I don’t even know if I intentionally put it on net, but it went on net and it went in,” Ryan said. “And I literally erupted into joy.”
The Red Rangers defense held strong against a vaunted Archies’ attack, limiting their shots on goal to two in the second period after Barnes was forced to make 12 saves in the opening 15 minutes. With just under a minute to go, Duffy put the finishing touches on. The senior corralled the puck off a Bishops’ turnover and sent it in just past the blue line to send the Methuen/Tewksbury crowd, largely covered in red, into a frenzy.
“Just the excitement of throwing my gloves up in the air, throwing my stick up in the air. It was awesome,” Ryan said. “I wouldn’t want to do it with any other girls.”
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