Lynnfield girls soccer one win away from state title

LYNNFIELD – The good news is the Lynnfield High girls soccer team and coach Mark Vermont should be just about thawed out in time for tonight’s Division 3 state final against Nipmuc Regional High School at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.The Pioneers are coming off a thrilling win over Dedham in the EMass final, but they only had a day to bask in the excitement before taking on Central Mass champion Nipmuc, which defeated Western Mass champ Wahconah, 5-0, to reach the final.Lynnfield will be facing a team with a lofty 21-1-1 record. Nipmuc?s road to the final included wins over Oakmont (4-0), St. Peter-Marian (6-0), Millbury (1-0), Holy Name (2-1), and Wahconah. Nipmuc has outscored its tournament opponents 17-1.Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont has kept his focus on making sure his team does what it needs to do.One of the players Vermont knows he’ll have to keep an eye on is Nipmuc’s Gabriella Carreira. Carreira, a senior who will be playing at Boston College next year, was a one-woman wrecking crew in the Wahconah game, scoring a career-high four goals with one coming on a penalty kick. She has 24 goals this season.?Wherever she needs to be, she’s there,” Vermont said.Vermont is also aware his team will be up against a very tough defense. The Warriors have posted an incredible 18 shutouts.?They don’t give up goals,” Vermont said.Lynnfield has been finding ways to get it done all season and Wednesday night’s win over Dedham was no different. Katie Scanlon scored fairly early in the first half and with six minutes left in the game, Liz Reed provided some insurance with a chip shot into the net. The Pioneers have also benefited from some excellent goaltending by senior Hannah Travers, who stopped a penalty kick against Dedham that would have tied the game had it gone in.?We’re where we want to be at this point,’ Vermont said. “It’s exciting. The kids are excited. We just have to try and keep them on task and play our game.”Nipmuc coach Howard Cohen has been at the Warrior helm for eight years. Nipmuc is a regular in the state tournament with its last state titles coming back-to-back in 2005 and 2006.In addition to Carreira, who played in the U18 World Cup last year and is in the U20 National pool, the Warriors have two other players who will be competing at the college level next year ? midfielders Erika Scott will play for Merrimack College and Jenna Fitzgerald for Southern New Hampshire University. Junior Kiley LaRoque has also been an impact player for the Warriors up front this season.?We’re always competitive,” Cohen said.Cohen said his senior-oriented defense has been very strong, but the team overall is very well balanced. The Warriors only loss came against Wachusett . The tie came against Algonquin.