LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield girls soccer team extended its winning streak to 11 games Monday with a 3-0 win at home over non-league rival Wayland.
The game was up for grabs with Lynnfield clinging to a 1-0 lead after 67 minutes, but two big goals from Adriana Parisi and Anna Maria Ferrante in a seven-minute span put the game out of reach.
“They (Wayland) are a great squad this year and have played some big teams this year, so we knew they would be tough,” said Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont. “That second goal was huge, and the third one was just a dagger.”
Ferrante staked the Pioneers to a 1-0 lead 12 minutes in with her eighth goal of the season. Both teams had chances the rest of the half. Lynnfield’s best opportunity came with under eight minutes to play when Abby Lucich broke free in front and rifled a shot from point blank range, but Wayland keeper Sophia Goldstein came up with the save.
The save seemed to energize Wayland, which dominated the rest of the half. A botched clear attempt opened the door for Emily Staiti to get off a shot, but Pioneer keeper Amberly McCarter made a diving save to keep Wayland off the board. Wayland had two corner kicks in the last minute of the half but could not convert.
The action was back-and-forth in the second half. After being pinned its own end for about five minutes, the Pioneers began to pound the offensive end. With 12 minutes left, Lauren Mitchell was fouled from about 25 yards out. Twin sister Ashley Mitchell lobbed the kick out of bounds off a Wayland defender. A second corner was cleared out of bounds at about the 30 yard-line. Lauren Mitchell inbounded the ball to Lucich, who dribbled into the box, then cut around two defenders toward the goal. She dropped the ball back to the middle to a wide-open Parisi, who one-touched it home to make it a 2-0 game at the 67:43 mark.
Ferrante added another insurance goal (assist to Ashley Mitchell) with about five minutes to play in the game.
“Luch did an awesome job and remained composed and Audrey’s (Parisi) finish was big time,” said Vermont. “Anna is so tough to defend The ball was bouncing around and she just beat someone one-on-one. That’s just Anna being Anna.”
Vermont complimented the defense on a solid performance.
“Erin Sharkey and Molly Ozanian in the middle did a nice job and the two Laurens Mitchell and Braconnier) did a nice job on the outside. Liz (Sykes) really is rock solid in the back at sweeper and our midfield, (Julia) Colucci and Tori (Morelli) did a nice job for us.”
The Pioneers improved to 11-2-1 (9-2-1 CAL) and increased their lead over Masconomet (8-3-1 CAL) for Kinney Division bragging rights to one full game.
Lynnfield’s next game is Friday at home against Pentucket at 5. The Pioneers’ seven seniors will be honored at halftime.
