BRAINTREE — Despite a picture-perfect start for the Lynnfield field hockey team, the Division 2 North champion Pioneers fell 2-1 in the state semifinal to South champion Dover-Sherborn at Braintree High School Thursday.
Lynnfield came out of the gate with the energy it looked for and scored midway through the first half to take a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers had plenty of chances in a hard-fought second half but the Raiders were the ones who made the most of their opportunities with a pair of late goals.
“I thought that we came on strong in the first half,” Lynnfield coach Mamie Reardon said. “We were down their end and had the momentum. But then it got down to the second half and came to a point where it was going back-and-forth. We weren’t passing the ball flat, getting the ball out to the wing and we never really recovered from that.”
Lynnfield’s lone goal came from Lily Rothwell off an assist by Carolyn Garofoli.
The Raiders got some pressure in the first five minutes but it was nothing the Pioneers couldn’t handle defensively before shifting the momentum. Lynnfield earned the only corner chance of the first half but just missed the mark.
Midway through through the first half, Garofoli forced a turnover in the midfield and sent a perfect pass up to Rothwell. Rothwell made the most of it and found the back of the net to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead.
Dover-Sherborn came out on fire in the second half. The Raiders had a pair of corner chances in the first five minutes but Madison Murphy and Garofoli made some nice defensive plays to keep Lynnfield ahead.
The pressure continued later on with a nice scoring chance from Payton Ahola, but Ava O’Brien came out of her net and made a diving play to once again keep the Raiders at bay.
But Lynnfield could only hold on for so long. After a Pioneers’ scoring chance Dover-Sherborn came right down the field. O’Brien made a pad save on a shot but Abigail Gramer was there to clean up the rebound and tie things up at 1-1 with 16 minutes to play.
Lynnfield responded with some of its best chances of the night. Garofoli ripped a pair of hard shots on a corner chance but both were blocked to keep the game tied.
A few minutes later Dover-Sherborn found the back of the net again. This time Caitlin O’Connell knocked in a shot after a scrum in front of the net and gave the Raiders a 2-1 lead with 6:36 remaining.
The Pioneers never stopped fighting, forcing two corner chances and getting a shot on net that was saved but couldn’t get the goal they needed to force an overtime.
The loss still stings for the Pioneers but they still have a historic season to be proud of. With a handful of new starters on the field coming into the season, Lynnfield had plenty of question marks but stepped up in a big way, winning the program’s first sectional title since 2000.
“I told the girls, ‘look how far you’ve come,'” Reardon said. “We had four returning players and the rest had never played before, goalie included. So to be in this position is pretty good. I reminded them that because they did such a great job all season.”
The Pioneers graduate eight seniors who each had a lasting impact.
“We have eight seniors and all eight play,” Reardon said. “It’s great, usually when you get to a certain point you keep seniors but don’t always play them all. Our’s were played all the time. And they’re great great girls. They were good leaders and hard workers. I can’t say enough.”
