BEDFORD, N.H. — Stuart Kinsman remembers leaving the interview thinking he had hit a home run.

Months ago, following the departure of Ryan Limero, Mascoma was searching for its new boys soccer coach. The hiring committee — composed of athletic director Steve Stebbins, principal Tina Fleming and, most importantly, two of the team’s would-be senior captains, Tanner Moulton and Matt Favreau — was searching for a candidate that could manage the personalities in the locker room without abandoning the tactical framework that the players were accustomed to.

Some coaching candidates wanted to install their own system. But not Kinsman, Stebbins said. 

That check and balance, Kinsman said, is what made this season possible. Mascoma finished the regular season undefeated, rattling off a dozen wins to secure the No. 2 overall seed in NHIAA Division III. A trio of postseason victories fueled a run to the state title game, where a pair of first-half goals saw top-seeded Hopkinton jump out to a 2-0 lead it would never surrender, the Royals ultimately settling for second place late Saturday afternoon.

“I just couldn’t be more proud of the team, regardless of the outcome,” Kinsman said. “Obviously, I want to see these kids with a smile on their faces, not tears coming out of their eyes, but that (loss) doesn’t take away from the season that we had.”

Kinsman recalls being in shambles during Mascoma’s first summer league game. 

It was his first instance coaching at the varsity level, a one-year stint as an assistant coach for a co-ed middle school program preceding his rise to high school soccer. He wasn’t sure if the players would like him. He wasn’t sure how wary the players, especially the senior class, were of his arrival. 

He was also now leading a group that entered the 2024 campaign with high expectations. The Royals had not been shy when setting their goals ahead of the season. It was, final four or bust. Ending the season without a shot at a state title could be viewed as a failure. 

Could Kinsman take a “varsity team full of studs,” one that had been unexpectedly booted from the quarterfinals a year prior, and meet the team’s direction? It took a few practices, but the answer became clear: Yes. 

In the third game of the season, a 3-3 draw with Belmont, Mascoma came back from a two-goal deficit. It was the kind of situation where in years’ past the team would have collapsed, Stebbins said. But the team responded, an early inkling that the players “were growing up,” Stebbins said.

“It clicked,” Stebbins said. “The personalities meshed really well.”

When Mascoma took the field against Gilford two years ago in the state title game, the end result wasn’t all that shocking. The Royals wanted to give their best on the field, but they knew the odds were stacked against them, Stebbins said, as evidenced by Gilford’s eventual 4-0 win. Still, on the bus ride home in 2022, it felt as though Mascoma had won a state championship. 

This year, however, the Royals expected more. They intended to give Hopkinton a good game, to be able to play 80 minutes of quality soccer with the No. 1 overall seed in D-III, a shot at hoisting a state championship plaque just 80 minutes from their grasp. 

In its second state title game appearance in three seasons, Mascoma surrendered two goals in a span of eight minutes in the first half. At halftime, Kinsman told his team that a 2-0 advantage is the most dangerous lead in soccer. He wanted his players to return to the basics: play to feet, don’t turn into players, play through the midfield, look for moments to switch play. 

Kinsman said the Royals needed to “work one goal at a time,” but instead, he saw his team “trying to score two goals at once.” It wasn’t a recipe for success. 

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net and we couldn’t string together enough passes to be a real threat,” Kinsman said. “But so how proud of how the kids came out and played with absolute heart and grit.”

When Kinsman left the interview, there were no question marks rattling around Moulton’s mind about who Mascoma’s next coach would be. He was certain Kinsman was “going to be a good coach.” 

Ahead of the state tournament, Moulton, one of six graduating seniors, said that Kinsman had cracked down on the team’s discipline. Collectively, the group was much more “calm, cool and collected,” a stark contrast from a team that used to feature a ton of hot heads, he joked. 

During the hiring process, Stebbins was looking for someone who could keep the players in a good emotional state. The raw talent on the team was undeniable. It just needed a coach who could bring it all together. 

Turns out, “we found the right guy,” Stebbins said.

“I didn’t know if they were going to like me,” Kinsman said. “Turns out, we were like brothers. It’s like having 15 to 17 younger brothers. I look up to them just as much as they look up to me. I’ve been able to learn a lot from these kids, and that’s something I will take with me forever.

Alex Cervantes can be reached at acervantes@vnews.com or 603-727-7302.