PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick girls soccer team continued its positive momentum right into Monday’s matchup against rival St. Mary’s, getting a full team effort in a 3-0 win over the Spartans at Donaldson Stadium. The win is the second straight shutout for the Crusaders.
“That was probably the toughest game we’ve played all year outside of Bishop Feehan,” said Fenwick coach Steve Flaherty. “St. Mary’s played us tough all game long. We changed things up a bit in the second half, and that’s what really helped us pull away.”
Elani Gikas led the way for Fenwick with one goal and one assist, while Ella Morgan and Ally Mitchell each scored one goal. Lea Bettencourt and Samantha Sharp each had one assist, while McKenna Gilligan played well in the midfield. Goalkeeper Claudia Keith earned the shutout in net.
For St. Mary’s, senior captain Julia Nickolau, junior Meghan Lovett and sophomore Allie Fritz all played well in the loss.
“Fenwick is one of the premier teams in the league and they played like it,” said St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley. “We hung with them for the majority of the game, but we made a couple mistakes. When you make mistakes against a good team like that, they’ll make you pay.”
As is the case nearly every time these two rivals meet, the Crusaders and Spartans battled back and forth all game long on a chilly night at Donaldson Stadium. Fenwick held a slim 1-0 lead at halftime on a goal from Gikas before pulling away in the second half.
“I enjoy it every time we go up against St. Mary’s,” said Flaherty. “It always feels like there’s a little more on the line when we play them.”
“It’s always a great battle against those guys,” said Foley. “The girls came out with a lot of heart and really gave it their all, and it’s always like that when we go up against Fenwick. I was really proud of how we played.”
St. Mary’s (5-6-2) travels to Arlington Catholic Saturday morning (11:30).
“I think the key for us is just being more consistent on the offensive end, because we’ve had trouble at times generating offense,” said Foley. “Overall, we’re just trying to finish the season strong and go into the CCL Cup with a little bit of momentum.”
Fenwick (10-1-2) has more than a week off before playing on the road at Malden Catholic next Tuesday evening (6).
“It will definitely be nice to get a week off here because we’ve been playing three games a week all season,” said Flaherty. “The girls are a little drained now, so it’ll be nice to get them a little rested and recharged before the end-of-season tournament.”
