PEABODY– Monday afternoon’s Division 3 North quarterfinal tilt between No. 5 Northeast and No. 4 Bishop Fenwick was over shortly after it started. The Crusaders scored three goals within the first 10 minutes and never looked back, cruising to a 6-0 win at a rainy Donaldson Stadium.
With the victory, Fenwick advanced to Wednesday night’s (7) sectional semifinal against No. 1 Austin Prep. A familiar Catholic Central League foe, Austin Prep handed Fenwick two of its three losses (both by one goal) during the regular season.
“Austin Prep’s a good team,” Fenwick coach Steve Flaherty said. “They’re a good squad. It’s always a battle when we play them. We’re looking forward to it.”
Senior striker Marissa Orlando and freshman defender McKenna Gilligan led Monday’s win with two goals apiece. Senior midfielder Madison Woods and freshman striker Jordan Morris added one goal each.
Junior striker Madison Csogi dished two assists, while Woods and Samantha Gallant each tallied one assist.
Freshman goalkeeper Claudia Keith earned the shutout win.
The Crusaders set the tone early and placed Northeast in an unideal 3-0 deficit out of the gate. Orlando scored on an assist from Woods five minutes into the game for the first goal of the afternoon. Csogi set Orlando up for the second goal of the game two minutes later and Woods cashed in on another Csogi assist to boost Fenwick’s lead to 3-0 with 30:06 left in the opening half.
Flaherty said his Crusaders looked forward to playing in the state tournament after a strong regular season and they’ve proven it with back-to-back stellar performances during the first two playoff games.
“The girls have been waiting for this challenge,” Flaherty said of the state tournament. “Especially the seniors because this is their last ‘hoorah’ in high school soccer. They’re looking forward to it.”
Gilligan found the back of the net twice (with 16:30 and 9:28 remaining in the first half), once on an assist from Gallant, to put the Crusaders well-ahead at 5-0. That’s where it stayed at the end of the first half.
Morris sealed the scoring two minutes into the second half when she dribbled the ball the near the far sideline, created her own opening and fired a shot into the back of the net for the 6-0 Fenwick lead.
“I definitely liked when we played the ball to the feet and things like that,” Flaherty said. “That’s what I’ve been harping on all year.”
With the heavy lifting taken care of, the Crusaders didn’t have to do much the rest of the way. Fenwick ran out the remaining 38 minutes and cruised to its 6-0 victory.
The Crusaders will take the field for practice Tuesday afternoon in preparation for Wednesday’s semifinal against Austin Prep at Manning Field. The Cougars sealed their spot in the sectional semifinal with a 1-0 win over Lynnfield Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinal round.
“Austin Prep knows us well, we know them very well,” Flaherty said. “It’s going to be a good game and it’s going to be at a great field at Manning.
“We played Austin Prep twice and they beat us both times by one goal,” Flaherty added. “It’s going to be good competition for us, for sure. We’re looking forward to it.”
Northeast ended the season with a 14-4-2 mark.
