Top 10 Dedham Sports Stories for 2010

We've covered a lot of sports over the past four months, and many great teams and players have shown what they can do on their surface of choice. Here is a look at some of the top sports stories of 2010, and we look forward to following the best of 2011 as the new year turns.

10. Ursuline soccer team gains valuable playoff experience. The Bears will return a strong nucleus next season with in net, a pair of high-scoring sophomore twins in Christyn and Caitlyn Karol, and sophomore Kristen Hickey. But the young Bears played well and advanced to the . Ursuline finished 9-8-2 on the year, including a giant win over rival Notre Dame-Hingham on the road.

9. Ursuline volleyball wraps playoff spot early, advances into MIAA playoffs. Halfway through the season, the Bears staked out to a 9-1 record and . Coach Eric Neely felt great as he had a month to work on his team and get them ready for the grind of a tournament. The Bears played well, led by seniors Dana Weston and Jill Lawlor. The Bears then . Case would go on to lose in the state championship.

8. Dedham football homecoming comes down to the wire. It was a need-to-be-there type of game between . Down 15 with less than two minutes to play, Keith Comeau's team fought back and had the ball in the red zone with a chance to tie a 6-3 Wellesley squad. The run fell just short, but the atmosphere of Westwood's Flahive Field was a remarkable sight to see.

7. Dedham girls soccer runs through MIAA playoffs. Led by junior striker Jenna Savi, the Marauders earned a pair of one-goal wins in the first two rounds of the tournament. First in the , and then two days later against . Don Savi's team finished 12-5-4 on the season after in the MIAA South Division 2 semifinals.

6. Dedham field hockey pulls MIAA tourney upset. Again. And again. It was a wild week for Leigh Shea and the Marauders field hockey team as they , 19th, . Kaitlyn Abber then scored an OT goal to . Finally, to upend Scituate in the MIAA quarterfinals. The Marauders lost in the.

5. Nobles boys soccer win in extra time of New England Preparatory School Athletic Council quarterfinal. to give the Bulldogs the 1-0 win. After the goal, herds of classmates rushed Oh and the team, lifting the hero in the air. The Bulldogs went on to advance to the NEPSAC championship after junior star Oliver White scored on a , but they eventually fell to .

4. Dedham eighth grade Pop Warner team advances to Super Bowl. Coach Sean Dempsey's Dynamos went 7-1 in 2010, with their lone loss coming to the hands of a talented run-first Holliston team in in November.

3. Dedham "D" Pop Warner team advances to Hockomock Super Bowl. The squad of boys ages nine to 11 years old went through the season undefeated – and unscored upon – until the final game. Coach Paul Munchbach led the kids through a dramatic triple-overtime win at Memorial Park that put them in the Super Bowl. They fell in the .

2. Dedham 9s – the little team that could. And that they did - . The team received best wishes from Gov. Deval Patrick before they traveled to western Massachusetts, and received and the School Committee after they returned. Led by Andy Shumway, Dan Maher and Mike Nosky, the group of nine-year-olds played well together throughout the summer and their hard work paid off.

1. Nobles girls soccer wins New England tournament. Coach Ben Snyder's bunch in Easthampton. Captain Phoebe Tateronis and junior Coco Woeltz propelled the Bulldogs with a goal apiece in the finals. The NEPSAC win gives Snyder his second in three years.

Honorable Mention:

Mike Plansky takes of AD role at DHS; Andy Shumway ; Thanksgiving ; Override passes, construction starts on new DHS athletic complex; Mike O'Connor