NEWBURYPORT — Despite holding onto a 3-1 lead midway through the third quarter, the Lynnfield field hockey team couldn’t quite hold on in its season finale, giving up a goal with less than a minute to play in a 4-3 loss to Cape Ann League foe Newburyport on the road Tuesday evening.
“I couldn’t have asked for anything more from the girls on both sides of the ball,” said Lynnfield coach Samantha Pindara. “We used our speed well offensively, we capitalized on our opportunities and we played sound defense. Newburyport is a really strong team and they never stopped fighting, and eventually they were able to exploit some holes and take advantage.”
For Lynnfield, Alyssa Calvani scored all three goals in the loss. Maddy Murphy and Anna Kaminski each had one assist, while Grace Klonsky, Ava O’Brien Jeanne Carpenter and Ava Marotta all played well defensively
Newburyport jumped ahead early, getting a goal from Callie Beauparlant less than six minutes into the game to take a 1-0 lead. But Lynnfield wasn’t deterred by the early goal, coming right back with a goal of its own from Calvani to tie the score up at the end of the first quarter.
The Pioneers then jumped ahead when Calvani scored early in the second quarter to grab a 2-1 lead, which Lynnfield held onto until the halftime break.
Lynnfield jumped ahead 3-1 on the hat-trick goal from Calvani early in the third, and it appeared that the Pioneers had taken up all the momentum. But after another goal from Beauparlant late in the third to make it 3-2 Lynnfield, Newburyport grabbed all that momentum back.
After knocking on the door a number of times in the fourth, Newburyport broke through and tied the score at 3-3 on a goal from Ashley Ventura with just over four minutes to play. Then, riding all that momentum, Beauparlant sealed the deal when she scored her third goal of the game with just 37 seconds to play to steal the win away from the Pioneers.
“It’s not like there was any breakdown defensively, but Newburyport just willed its way to those last couple of goals,” said Pindara. “They kept up the intensity until the very end, and that’s what helped push them over the edge.”
Lynnfield wraps up its 2020 season at 4-4-2, and Pindara was pleased with what she saw in her first year as head coach of the Pioneers. She also praised her group of seniors — Klonsky, Murphy, O’Brien, Carpenter, Maddie Cook, Charlotte Mihalchik, Bella Scala and Riley Slaney — for their leadership throughout the strange 2020 season.
“Based on what we had to deal with this season, I’m more than happy with the way we finished things,” said Pindara. “Not only was it the first season as head coach for me, but we played 7-on-7 and had to deal with the new COVID-19 rules all year. It was an adjustment at all levels for everyone, and the season really wouldn’t have been possible without the leadership of our seniors. This senior class was so special and had such great leadership qualities, and that just rubbed off on all of the younger players. It’s a lot easier to come in as a new head coach when you have a group of veteran players who set the tone like they did.”
