LYNN — After not scoring a single goal in their first two games, the Bishop Fenwick girls soccer team jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 3-2 win over rival St. Mary’s at Manning Field on Wednesday night. The Crusaders netted their first goal of the year less than two minutes into the game, giving them some sorely needed momentum.
“It was certainly nice for us to jump out to an early lead,” said Fenwick coach Steve Flaherty. “I think we were able to ride that momentum for much of the first half, which is something we haven’t had so far this season.”
As for St. Mary’s, the Spartans were forced to battle back in the second half after falling behind 3-0.
“We came out kind of flat in the first half, which led to us falling behind there,” said St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley. “But in the second half, we were able to keep control of the ball and get some more opportunities at the net, which was good to see.”
Fenwick jumped out to an early lead despite not controlling the ball in the offensive zone for very long. The first time the Crusaders got into Spartan territory with the ball they earned a corner kick, then Fenwick junior Marissa Orlando scored while falling down after corralling a loose ball in front of the net to make it 1-0.
The Spartans (2-1) followed up the Fenwick goal with some solid play and ball possession over the next 20 minutes of game time, but they just couldn’t capitalize on the handful of scoring opportunities they got.
Then, with 6:45 left in the first half, the Crusaders got another corner kick chance. This time it was freshman Elani Gikas who made the big play, bending her corner kick over everyone’s head and inside the far post to give Fenwick a two-goal lead going into halftime.
Things weren’t looking so good for the Spartans early in the second half. With just under 26 minutes left in the game, Orlando earned a penalty kick after getting taken down in the box. She capitalized with a goal, and the Spartans found themselves in a three-goal hole.
But the comeback started a few minutes later for St. Mary’s. It started with sophomore Morgan Mackey scoring on a penalty kick with about 21 minutes left. A minute and a half later, Mia Nikolakopoulos scooped up a loose ball in front of the net and buried a goal to make it 3-2.
The Spartans kept pushing and trying to get scoring opportunities throughout the next 15 minutes of game action. Their best chance came with about five minutes remaining, but the shot was turned away by Fenwick goalkeeper Ashley Baker to preserve the lead and help seal the win.
Fenwick (1-2) is now looking to build off the win to get back on track after dropping the first two games of the season.
“That’s the plan for sure, to try and ride this momentum,” Flaherty said. “Things are starting to come together and we play well in bursts, so now we just have to focus on keeping it up for a full game.”
Both teams are back in action on Friday when the Crusaders battle Essex Tech and the Spartans clash against Latin Academy on the road.
