LYNN — It was a tough day on the field for the St. Mary’s girls soccer team on Wednesday afternoon, falling to Catholic Central League foe Arlington Catholic, 1-0, at Manning Field. The Spartans struggled from the opening kick, losing the time of possession battle and the battles for 50-50 balls.
“We just didn’t show up tonight, we were outplayed,” said St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley. “We had some chances in the second half, but in reality we can’t play like this in our league, because this is what will happen.”
The Spartans and the Cougars played a pretty even game throughout much of the first half, although Arlington Catholic was able to control the ball for much of the period. When St. Mary’s was able to possess the ball and get into the offensive zone, Arlington Catholic goalkeeper Kailey Lane stonewalled the Spartans at every opportunity. Lane ended the night with six saves and several other key deflections to break up passes.
St. Mary’s goalkeeper Ellie Riordan held her own in the first half as well, coming up with three big saves to keep the score tied going into halftime.
In the second half, though, Arlington Catholic broke through. Just over a minute into the half, the Cougars took control and moved into the offensive zone. After an inaccurate pass to the edge, the ball bounced off several feet before it settled in front of Arlington Catholic’s Maddy Courtney, who proceeded to lift a shot over Riordan’s outstretched hands for the lone goal of the game.
The Spartans had one really great chance to tie the game up, and it came with about 16 minutes left in the game. After an initial shot from Gaby Diaz-Martinez was stopped by Lane, a rebound bounced out into the box. Several St. Mary’s players tried to kick the loose ball into the net but it kept getting deflected until Lane, who had fallen on the ground after her initial save, dove on the ball and covered it up.
“We just couldn’t bury the chances, simple as that,” Foley said. “We had a great opportunity with their goalie on the ground and we just couldn’t get the shot off. We have to capitalize in those situations because we don’t produce a lot of offense. When you get the chances, you have to score.”
It was a tough loss for the Spartans (4-4-3), who were coming off another tough 1-0 defeat to CCL rival Bishop Fenwick on Monday. But, as Foley points out, the two losses were very different.
“We had a great effort against Fenwick on Monday, despite the loss,” Foley said. “But we’ve got to be consistent. We have a great game, then a poor game, and that can’t happen. We’ve really got to keep working.”
St. Mary’s will now have a full week off before the Spartans attempt to rebound against Austin Prep, another CCL rival, next Wednesday.
