LYNN — Thanks to the stellar play of a freshman forward, the Fenwick girls soccer team netted two goals in the first half en route to a 2-1 victory over Catholic Central League rival St. Mary’s at Manning Field Wednesday. That freshman, Alison Mitchell, scored both goals for the Crusaders.
“It was a tale of two halves for us,” said Fenwick coach Steve Flaherty. “We had a great first half and then had to hold on in the second half, but we were able to get the win. Alison Mitchell had a fantastic game for us, which was great to see because she’s a freshman still building confidence.”
But it wasn’t just Mitchell who played well for Fenwick. Sophomore Isabella DelVecchio, junior Mia Tsarparlis, sophomore Ella Morgan and keeper Kelsey Francis also had solid performances.
For St. Mary’s, Emily Egan who scored the lone goal. Jada Mateo, Gabby Diaz, Susannah Cornell and keeper Eliza Brown also played well.
“I think we just came out a little flat in the first half, and Fenwick jumped on that,” said St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley. “But we battled back strong in the second half and I couldn’t be prouder of the way we played down the stretch. We had the opportunities, but we just couldn’t cash them in.”
As Flaherty stated, it was a tale of two halves for Fenwick. The first half was the better of the two, as the Crusaders did a good job controlling possession and pace of play for the majority of the period. Just over 20 minutes in, Mitchell broke free in the midfield and sprinted into the offensive zone. About 20 yards from the net, Mtichell let loose a booming kick that found its way right under the crossbar to give Fenwick the 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for the Crusaders to extend their lead, as Mitchell got right back to it less than two minutes later. This time, Mitchell deflected a clearing attempt by St. Mary’s and got the ball on her foot in the offensive zone. She dashed to the net from the left side of the field, sending another laser kick that snuck into the top-right corner of the net for a 2-0 Fenwick lead. The Crusaders took that lead into the halftime break.
“It was good for us to jump out and get that lead in the first half,” said Flaherty. “We made some good plays and were able to possess the ball really well for the most part, and then we made the most of our opportunities.”
The Spartans righted the ship a bit in the second half, taking more control of possession and starting to spend some time in the offensive zone themselves. With just under 25 minutes to go , a handball in the box prompted a penalty kick for the Spartans, which was taken by Kayla Demers. But despite her propensity for scoring goals, this time Demers missed slightly and sent a ball just over the crossbar, keeping the score at 2-0.
Luckily, just over a minute later St. Mary’s earned another penalty kick. This time it was Egan who took the shot, and she capitalized on her chance to make it 2-1.
The Spartans had several other scoring chances over the final 20 minutes of the game, but Fenwick’s defense held strong to seal the victory.
Next up for St. Mary’s (4-2) is a matchup at Arlington Catholic Monday (4).
“We had to move some kids around due to injury and we saw some girls step up in this game, so we can definitely build on that going forward,” said Foley. “Once we adjusted a bit in the second half things got a lot better, so there’s plenty of positives to work with.”
Fenwick (3-1) hosts Danvers Saturday (2).
“We’re hoping that we can take some momentum from this win and bring it over to the next game for sure,” Flaherty said. “It’s always a tough game against Danvers, but if we can play the way we played (Wednesday), we should be in good shape.”
