Lynnfield girls blank Rockport

LYNNFIELD – With the postseason looming just around the corner, the Lynnfield girls soccer team celebrated Senior Day with a satisfying 2-0 win over Rockport. The Pioneers, now 13-2-2, scored both goals in the second half while their defense was airtight, allowing just two shots on goal.Despite thoroughly dominating the possession game in the first half, Lynnfield couldn?t beat Vikings goalkeeper Shelby Gale, despite firing five shots her way. Rockport, who will not be playing past the regular season, did a solid job in stacking its back end and preventing many good chances.?We were making the right plays to start the game but our timing seemed to be a little off,” explained Pioneers coach Mark Vermont. “Rockport packed us in defensively but we kept battling and came out for the second half and created better chances.”Lynnfield opened up the second period with a high-pressure attack that resulted in a highlight-reel save from Gale (12 saves total) in the fourth minute off the foot of Emily Scollard. The Pioneers co-captain would send two more shots on net before the hosts were finally rewarded for their efforts.Katie Scanlon headed home a beautiful goal in the 11th minute. The play started with a corner kick from Liz Reed, who found Abby Petras in the middle. Petras? shot misfired, but found the eventual goal-scorer at the right post.?Katie loves to head the ball on net, and even though I think Abby mis-hit her attempt a bit, it found its way through to Katie, who did a good job crashing the net,” said Vermont.Fifteen minutes later, Lynnfield got an insurance tally off a nice placement shot from co-captain Jackie Whelan. After a series of downfield passes, Renee DelNegro slid a feed through to Whelan in close. Whelan tucked her shot inside the right post.Rockport never really managed any pressure in the second half, failing to register a shot on Paige Ciavarro. This was thanks to the Pioneers? ever-consistent defense.?All year long, our defense has done a great job,” said Vermont. “We have only allowed about 10 goals this season and went eight straight games without allowing one.”Taylor Freitas had a busy first half on the back end for Lynnfield, as the ball stayed primarily on her side of the field, but never got behind the senior.Lynnfield has one game remaining before the tournament kicks off at the start of November. The Pioneers will travel to Ipswich on Wednesday night to face another playoff-bound team.?Wednesday will be like a playoff game itself,” explained Vermont of the season finale. “Ipswich will be in the D3 tournament as well, so it should be a great game that both teams can build off of before the playoffs begin.”