A double hat trick
Memory lingers of a 6-goal game
 | In addition to his gifts on the soccer pitch, where he scored 21 goals this season, North Quincy's Shane Regan carries a 4.0 grade point average. (Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff) |
By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / November 16, 2008
Ten minutes of play elapsed in the mid-October match and Shane Regan's work seemed to be finished for the night. The North Quincy senior forward had already pocketed one goal beyond a hat trick against Randolph, and his coach, Rich Hanlon, decided it was enough for one evening.
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"It wasn't like we wanted to beat up on some weak team," Hanlon said, recalling the 9-1 victory over a one-win Randolph team. "He scored his first four goals in 5 1/2 minutes, including on a penalty kick, and then I took him out.
"The opposing coach was like 'What's wrong with him?' So I put him back in and he scored two more."
Yes, Regan did in fact score six goals that night in Randolph.
"It was just a good game overall; I got great passes to score goals," said Regan, who carries a 4.0 grade point average and hopes to settle on Providence, Holy Cross, Franklin Pierce University, or Amherst in the coming weeks. "It wasn't a single effort."
Regan led the Red Raiders to their first postseason berth in nine seasons and their first playoff victory in 20 years before the run ended last Sunday with a loss to fourth-seeded Dartmouth in the Division 1 South bracket.
It was also flattering to know Randolph's coach wanted him out there, too.
"Knowing they wanted to challenge themselves against you lets you know you're doing something right," the 17-year-old said. "It's always good to know you're doing something good."
Hanlon knew he had something great on his hands from the moment he saw Regan play his freshman year. Hanlon, who has coached Quincy Youth Soccer for 24 years, didn't recognize Regan because the youngster played club soccer from an early age. The coach couldn't believe how well Regan controlled the ball, for an American kid. What he didn't know at the time is that Irish blood runs through Regan's veins. Both his parents are citizens of Ireland, and Regan has dual citizenship himself.
The family's yearly trip to their homeland is just about the only break Regan takes from training. His club team, FC Blazers, even practices twice a week at 7 a.m. throughout the winter at Boston University's Nickerson Field.
While Hanlon was immediately impressed with Regan's dribbling, Regan didn't truly feel confident in his skills until his sophomore season. That's when he joined the regional Olympic Development team and realized he was just as fast, if not faster, than players from warmer climates.
"Everyone says California kids are the best, but when you go out there and play against them, it proves otherwise," Regan said.
After scoring one goal as a freshman, Regan netted 12 as a sophomore and 15 last year. That total jumped to 21 goals this season to go with his 42 career assists.
The Red Raiders, not known as a soccer power by any stretch, finally surrounded Regan with a supporting cast this season, including German exchange student Silas DeBus, who had 8 goals and 7 assists.
"He didn't have to do it himself," Hanlon said of Regan. "He knew if he passed the ball, he'd get a pass back. His 23 assists shows that he got the ball to people and was not holding the ball himself. He's good when he holds the ball himself, but he was getting people in position to score."The team also saw an improvement in the win column, finishing 11-6-3 after going 6-10-2 last year.
Both goals in North Quincy's 3-2 loss to Dartmouth last Sunday came off Regan's foot. Regan also had a goal and an assist in the No. 13-seeded Red Raiders' preliminary win against Marshfield last Friday.
"Everyone put down a W before they played us," Regan said of the school's soccer reputation before this season. "We showed we could play with them."
It didn't even seem like North would make the playoffs when they trailed Rockland 2-1 late in the season. That was before Regan put a shot in the top corner of the net from 18 yards out on the way to the 3-2 victory that clinched a postseason berth.
"To me, those goals were the beauties because they were so crucial," Hanlon said.
What make's Regan's senior season even more incredible was that he played three-quarters of it with a pulled tendon in his right instep and was forced to shoot left-footed.
"And he still scored all those goals," Hanlon said.
Still, Hanlon never imagined a healthy Regan would score six goals in a game, which the coach believes to be a school record but isn't certain about any state records beyond that. The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Eastern Mass Soccer Coaches Association don't track such stats.
Nevertheless, the memory will always be recorded in Regan's mind, where he'll be able to recall it on demand at a moment's notice, especially his fourth goal.
"I picked the ball up on our own half, dribbled down the middle of the field, and shot 20 yards out and it went in off the left post," he said. "Once I started scoring, confidence started coming. I wish I could've stayed out there longer."
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