As captain of the Belmont High School soccer team in the early 2000s, Roy Dow emulated then-coach John Loosmann’s confidence. Little did he know that affinity for his high school coach would underscore the best story in Massachusetts high school sports more than two decades later.
“You are who you are, and you need to be comfortable with it and express yourself how you do,” Dow said. “That’s something I try to replicate.”
Imbuing the same confidence in the Newton North High School’s boys soccer team this fall, Dow, a 2003 graduate, guided the Tigers on an improbable run to the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I state championship last weekend.
“The dust is still settling, to be totally honest. I catch myself in moments appreciating it, thinking I’ve got my head around it, but go back to it and try to understand,” Dow said. “Knowing what we did together and that we were able to get that many high school kids to get behind something bigger than themselves is special.”
Entering the playoffs with an uninspiring 4-9-5 record after a 1-7 start, the Tigers qualified for the tournament by just .0551 points, getting seeded No. 31 in the 45-team field. With the regular season behind them and a clean postseason slate, Dow’s Tigers won six straight games to capture the state championship, capped by a 2-1 triumph over No. 9 St. John’s Shrewsbury on the campus of Worcester State University last Saturday evening.
The Tigers staved off No. 34 Winchester in penalty kicks to start the tournament, topped No. 2 and previously undefeated Lowell in overtime, and passed No. 18 Leominster and No. 7 Natick by narrow 1-0 margins before taking down No. 14 Xaverian to reach the state final.
Over a six-minute stretch of the championship game, Newton North scored two goals. The Tigers made it stand up behind the standout effort from goalkeeper Gabino Talisayon.
“We just told them to go survive and advance and see how long we could keep this going,” Dow said. “The kids bought into what we created. Teams aren’t supposed to do what we did.”
Dow, who graduated from Wheaton College, where he played one year of soccer, took his post at Newton North in 2010 at just 25 years old after coaching experiences with Lightning Soccer Camps and Tufts University. Now 39, Dow led the Tigers to their best finish in recent memory. In their lone state final appearance under Dow before last weekend, Newton North fell to Brookline, the school where Dow teaches special education and history, in the 2021 state championship.
At times during his tenure, Dow channeled Loosmann, who teaches physics at Belmont High School. He transitioned from a loud, shouting coach to a quieter, more deliberate communicator.
“I definitely think I’ve grown and become a better version of myself as a coach and person,” Dow said.
Outside of teaching and coaching the Newton North team, Dow coaches in the Newton Youth Soccer program, directs the Newton Community Education Soccer Conditioning Camp, and co-directs Newton Community Education Youth Soccer Camp. Dow, who is the co-director of Newton-based Prep Soccer Academy summer skills clinic series, also coached the F.C. Greater Boston Bolts U17 team from 2010 to 2021.
Season No. 16 at the helm of Newton North is some time away, but Dow is already excited to bring back double-digit varsity returners.
“Winning the way we did can help the program keep its momentum going, being competitive and being a team our opponents don’t want to play,” Dow said.