LYNNFIELD — They may be young, but the Lynnfield Pioneers girls soccer players look like seasoned pros.
Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Stadium, the Pioneers ran roughshod over Ipswich, defeating the visitors 6-1 to improve to 8-2-1 (7-2-1 CAL) and pull to within one game of clinching a Division 3 North tournament berth.
Junior midfielder Abby Lucich had a monster game with three goals, all within a 7-minute stretch in the second half, along with an assist in the first half on junior midfielder Emma Ricciardi’s game winner. Ricciardi also notched an assist, while junior midfielder Tori Morelli had a multiple-point game with two assists.
“I thought we had great ball movement, both on and off the ball, and while we didn’t have that many shots on goal, we finished our opportunities,” said Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont. “Our passing was great, but player of the game was Abby Lucich. She’s such a smart player and creates so much offense for us. She makes great runs and has great foot skills and was just amazing today. She and the rest of the forwards and the midfielders were just dynamic and our defense also was strong. Ipswich gave us a good battle, but I think we’re just really starting to click at just the right time, right, in the middle of the season as we’re gearing up for tournament.”
Junior midfielder Anna Maria Ferrante started the party in the 11th minute. She took a pass from sophomore forward Emily Goguen, then cut back at the 18-yard line and drilled a shot past Ipswich keeper Cayla Greenleaf.
Ricciardi bumped the Pioneers’ lead to 2-0 at the 23:28 mark on a pretty give-and-go with Lucich, who dropped the ball back to Ricciardi just inside the top of the box.
With less than six minutes to go in the half, freshman forward Adriana Parisi hit the post from point-blank range. The ball popped back to sophomore forward Ashley Mitchell, but her attempt went wide. Parisi made good on a second chance less than a minute later after Morelli found her at the top of the box to extend the Pioneers’ lead to 3-0.
The Tigers cut into the lead with under a minute to play in the half with a goal by Cassidy Kira. She launched a shot from the 5-yard line near the right sideline from a tough angle that Lynnfield keeper Amberly McCarter got a glove on, only to have the ball deflect off her right hand and clank off the inside of far post into the net to make it a 3-1 game at the 39:33 mark of the first half.
Any doubts about the outcome were settled by Lucich in the second half. Mitchell worked a corner kick in the 52nd minute and then played the ball into the box into traffic in front of the goal, where the ball bounced off several Tiger defenders. Lucich was in the right place at the right time to get a foot on the loose ball and tap it past a diving Greenleaf, who had no chance. Morelli was credited with an assist.
Three minutes later, Emma Montanile played a through ball to Lucich, who broke in behind the defense on a breakaway and found the back of the net to make it a 4-1 game.
In the 60th minute, Ricciardi threaded a through ball into the box to Lucich, in full stride. Lucich won the foot race to the ball with Greenleaf to make it a 6-1 game with 20 minutes to play.
Lynnfield has a chance to clinch a spot in the tournament Tuesday at Triton (3:45).
