Other Sports News:
Peabody: ENGLISH LESSON - Tanners dropped for a loss by Bulldogs in Lynn
ON THE DEFENSIVE
Strong defensive
effort not enough for Lady Pioneers against familiar rival Newburyport
|
|
Photo by Claire Hoose
|
|
Lynnfield freshman goalie Nareh Sahakian swats
away a shot in last Thursday's Division 3 North semifinal against Newburyport.
The defending state champion Clippers escaped with a 1-0 win.
|
By Bob Albright
LYNN – Death, taxes and Lynnfield-Newburyport.
If it’s mid November that means one thing for local soccer fans:
it’s once again time for the Lynnfield and Newburyport girls soccer teams
to meet deep in the Division 3 North tournament. For the third time in the
last four years that scenario played out Thursday and for the second straight
season Newburyport put an end to the Pioneers’ season.
Laura Muise’s tally with just 3:52 to play in regulation was the lone
blemish on a superb defensive performance by the Pioneers who fell, 1-0, to
the defending state champs at the new Manning Field in Lynn in the North
semifinals.
Lynnfield, which beat both Trinity Catholic (9-0) and St. Mary’s (3-1)
to make it to the semis, finished its stellar season with a 15-3-3 mark and
a third straight CAL Small championship. Newburyport went on to beat
Bedford, 2-1, in OT in the North final and squared off with Cohasset Tuesday
night in the state semis.
Coming off a 2-2 tie in their lone meeting during the regular season, Lynnfield
never could get its potent offense on track Thursday and relied heavily
on its defense, and freshman goalie Nareh Sahakian in particular, to keep it
a scoreless affair.
After carrying the play the entire second half while slowly moving their defense
further and further up the field, No. 2 seeded Newburyport (18-2-2) finally
got the only tally it would need when Muise lofted a high arching shot from
the top of the box. Sahakian was able to partially tip the shot, but it nestled
under the crossbar just the same.
The goal ended a heroic effort by the Lynnfield defense, which looked like
it was going to keep the high-octane Clippers at bay and force OT. It was a
collaborative effort to say the least.
At sweeper, senior Nicole Crawford closed out her career on a high note defusing
one scoring opportunity after another, as did fellow senior Stephanie LaRosa.
Given the monumental task of marking Colgate University recruit Jillian
Kinter, Lynnfield sophomore Amy Look was up to the task and junior Carolyn
LaRosa was solid as well.
“It was a great game by our defense, but they’re not perfect and
the more pressure you put on them eventually they are going to make a mistake,” said
Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont.
“Crawford has been a rock for us. Amy was marking Kinter and did not
give her anything and I thought both Carolyn and Stephanie both played very
well back there.”
As for Sahakian? Suffice it to say, she never looked like a freshman between
the posts as she owned the crease all evening long.
“She’s been training hard all year long and played very well,” said
Vermont. “Not once did she look nervous back there.”
That was no small accomplishment given a Clippers attack that lived in the
Lynnfield zone the entire second half. Whether it was swatting away a dangerous
corner kick with 33 minutes left, or sprawling to her left with to rob Muise
with 16 minutes to go, the Lynnfield netkeeper had the Clippers, and their
coach, talking to themselves.
“She really made some terrific saves. Just to have that composure in
a big game like this is very impressive,” veteran Newburyport coach Robb
Gonnam said. “That’s an awful lot to put on a freshman and she
responded.”
Defensively, Newburyport had a very simple game plan against the Pioneers:
take Jamie Harris out of the flow and Gonnam had his all-league stopper, Taylor
Bresnahan, and her fellow cohorts shadowing Harris all night.
“Their offense is geared towards getting the ball to her on transition,” said
Gonnam. “She’s got great speed and a great shot — left or
right – and she has great instincts. If Taylor had been anything less
than magnificent back there Jamie would have been off to the races.”
After getting a few opportunities in the first half, Vermont and the Pioneers
saw the tides turn dramatically in the final stanza.
“I thought that at least in the first half we had a couple of runs on
them,” said the coach. “In the second half they started to move
up their defense and it really started to smother us in the midfield. We were
just hoping to get some passes on the outside and get our speed into play with
Jamie and Scout (Benson), but they shut that down.”
The loss closes the book for Lynnfield’s four stellar senior captains,
Samantha Harris, Sara Janakas, Stephanie LaRosa and Catherine Durant,
as well as fellow seniors Crawford, Alissa Totman and Courtney Marsolais.
“Sam just controlled the middle and was such a great role model for the
team,” said Vermont. “Sara is a great kid with a great attitude
who really has improved her game and Catherine Durant is someone with a lot
of skill who made a lot happen for us up front and in the middle.
“It was just nice to see Stephanie back out there,” Vermont added
of LaRosa, who gamely battled back from an ACL injury a year ago. “She’s
been a four-year starter for us.”
While their departures will leave a big hole for Vermont to fill he’s
not lacking for shovels with the likes of Jamie Harris, Benson, Sahakian and
a host of others returning.
“I never try to be too top heavy and always have some people coming up,” he
said. “Hopefully, will get back here next year.”
You can bet on it. Just like you can bet on another team 30 miles or so North
on Rt. 128 will be right there to meet them.
***
In Tuesday’s quarterfinal against St. Mary’s, Lynnfield got the
same strong defensive effort and a scintillating offensive performance from
Benson (2 goals and an assist) as the Pioneers turned back the Spartans, 3-1.
After erasing an early 1-0 deficit, the Pioneers back line effectively took
St. Mary’s star sniper Amanda Webster out of the contest as Sahakian
had to make just two saves on the day.
Benson tied the game with 14 minutes left in the first half and scored what
proved to be the game winner when she knocked in Durant’s rebound a minute
later. Four minutes later Jamie Harris put it out of reach as she finished
off a pass from Benson for her 32nd goal of the year.
|
