Soccer Roundup: Lynnfield wins CAL Small title

After spotting North Reading an early 1-0 lead, the Lynnfield High girls soccer team got down to business and the result was a 4-1 win and the Cape Ann League Small title (for the second year in a row).The Pioneers rattled off four unanswered goals, beginning with a Courtney Marsolais tally 20 minutes into the game that tied things up. Twelve minutes later, Jamie Harris scored what would be the game-winner, with the assist going to Catherine Durant.Given North Reading’s knack for coming back, Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont wasn’t counting his chickens at 2-1. It wasn’t until Harris netted her second of the afternoon on a penalty kick (in the 39th minute) that Vermont was able to exhale. Benson provided the icing on the cake in the 71st minute when she headed in a Sam Harris corner kick for the 4-1 final.”They’re a very good team,” Vermont said. “I thought they gave us a lot of trouble.”Lynnfield finished 9-2-2 in the CAL Small, and with one nonleague game remaining against Wayland on Saturday, the Pioneers are 13-2-2 overall.”This was like a tournament game,” Vermont said. “I told the girls, North Reading is in the tournament and most likely we’ll see them at some point. You have to play like it’s a tournament game.”Nareh Sahakian was in net for the Pioneers.The win wasn’t the only thing the Pioneers had to celebrate. Junior Jamie Harris, who has 27 goals and eight assists, was named the Cape Ann League Player of the Year for the second year in a row and Vermont was named CAL Small Coach of the Year.Harris was also ranked second on the CAL all-league team (top 10 players in the large and small division). Teammate Stephanie LaRosa, a senior captain and defender, was also named to the all-league team. She checked in at No. 10. Three other Lynnfield players were named to the CAL all-star team, senior captain and midfielder Catherine Durant, senior sweeper Nicole Crawford and junior midfielder Mackenzie Dolbeare.Newburyport 1, Fenwick 0At Peabody, the Clippers scored midway through the first half and kept the Crusaders at bay the rest of the way. Brittany Dolan, Maura Doyle and Sara Previte played well in the loss. Fenwick is at Danvers Saturday (6:30) and home Monday against Peabody (3:30).Marblehead 2, Beverly 0At Beverly, Laura Whitehill scored the first Marblehead goal and Lizzy Whitehill made it 2-0 at the half to help the Magicians improve to 10-5-2. Elizabeth Miller assisted on the first goal.BOYS SOCCERMarblehead 2, Beverly 2At Marblehead, seeing a win slip away with 13 seconds left in the game can be disappointing, but the tie still got the job done for the Magicians, who needed the point to qualify for the state tournament.”We’re just happy to get in at this point,” Marblehead coach Steve Ingemi said.Sophomore Nick Alvarez gave Marblehead a 1-0 lead in the first half with the assist going to Sam Terrill. Beverly’s Ethan Trowt headed in a Yuri Lazarek corner kick to tie the game, but Alvarez struck again for Marblehead (Dan Nicolas assist) to give the Magicians a 2-1 lead. Beverly’s Rodrigo Valdez scored on a rebound off a Mike Collins shot to tie the game in the final seconds.Beverly finished the season at 3-12-4. Marblehead is 7-6-5.Lynnfield 2, No. Reading 1At North Reading, George Levantakos scored with a minute left to give the Pioneers (8-7-3) the win. Matt DeRosa had put Lynnfield up 1-0 in the first half (Andy Millinazzo assist), but North Reading tied it midway through the second half. Jerry Reid picked up the win in net.Lynnfield had several players named to the Cape Ann League all-star team. Senior captain Matt Dillon made the CAL all-league team and teammates and fellow captains Alex MacEachern and Sean Morrissey, along with junior Brendan Colby, were named CAL all-stars.