LYNN — The Lynn English girls soccer team didn’t win many games this past season. But with five seniors selected to represent the Bulldogs in Tuesday night’s 23rd Agganis Girls Soccer All-Star Game, English coach Ed McNeil has plenty to be proud about.
“I texted them last week and they’re all excited,” McNeil, who has coached the Bulldogs for 13 seasons, said. “They’re very excited about this. They’re not taking this as just any game. They’re super psyched about this and they should be. My daughter and son both played in Agganis all-star games and I coached it three times. It’s a great event.”
The five Bulldogs selected are goalie Tommi Hill, defenders Tora Ueland and Grace Gately, midfielder Sydney Denham and forward Alexa Zayas. All five were Bulldogs co-captains for the 2017 campaign.
Hill started each game in net for English this past fall and allowed just 2.2 goals per contest. Zayas was the team’s leading scorer, finishing her senior campaign with 11 goals. Denham was selected as an Agganis Foundation Scholarship recipient, earning the President’s Scholarship.
“We had 10 seniors last year and nine were starters,” McNeil said. “These five girls were all four-year players. They epitomize what Lynn English girls soccer is all about. We won the MIAA Sportsmanship award last season. They’re all wonderful student-athletes. They’re terrific young ladies and great players.”
McNeil’s also proud of the feats his seniors have accomplished in the classroom. All five of his players selected to play in the Agganis will further their education in the fall. Denham will attend St. John’s, Gately will attend WPI, Hill will attend Salem State, Ueland will attend West Virginia and Zayas will attend New England College.
“We have 10 seniors and they’re all going to college,” McNeil said. “That’s fabulous. That’s one thing we are, the girls do great in the classroom every year. A lot of them play two or three sports and that’s fabulous. I’m a very lucky coach.
“They’re all going to great schools,” McNeil added. “They’re all honors students. I couldn’t say enough about them all. They were all all-stars for me last year. We didn’t have a great record last season but we were in every game except three out of the 17 games. They’re all really good players and good kids.”
The five Bulldogs will play for the South all-star team, which will clash against the North at Manning Field. Chris Coviello of Saugus will coach the South team and Austin Prep’s Tim Phelan will direct the North squad.
McNeil said he’ll be in attendance for Tuesday night’s game as he looks forward to watching his seniors play one final game together as teammates.
“It’s a Lynn game for Harry Agganis,” McNeil said. “I wouldn’t miss the game for anything. I can’t wait to see them play one last game as high school students.
“These seniors are really role models,” McNeil added. “I can’t say enough. They’re special kids and they reflect really well on Lynn. They’re truly nice people and that’s really important. I can’t say enough about this group. I have a list of the players from last year and it had 15 names on it, 10 of them graduates. We have five returners. It’s not the talent but also the makeup of the team. They played hard and fair. We didn’t have a yellow card all season. It’s amazing how great these kids are.”
The 23rd Agganis Girls Soccer All-Star Game will serve at the nightcap of Tuesday’s double-header. The 23rd boys all-star game kicks-off at 5:30 p.m., while the girls tilt starts at 7.
