LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield girls soccer team put together possibly its most complete performance of the season Wednesday afternoon, earning a 1-0 win over Cape Ann League rival Newburyport at home. The win was categorized by strong play from a number of seniors.
“It’s like Red Sox-Yankees,” Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont said of the rivalry with Newburyport. “Newburyport is such a good program and they’re so well-coached, and we knew we’d have to play a good game in order to beat them. We got contributions all over the field, the energy was high the whole game and it was really like a tournament atmosphere out there.”
Senior Emily Goguen scored the winning goal for the Pioneers, while senior captain Lauren Braconnier had the assist. Senior Michelle Miller also played well in the win, while senior goalkeeper Lindsay Nardone earned the shutout in net.
“We matched (Newburyport’s) play the entire game,” said Vermont. “We opened the game with some strong possession, then Newburyport had its chances, and it was really back and forth the whole way. I’m really proud of the girls for the way they stuck with it and played hard to the very end.”
With the score deadlocked at 0-0 in the second half, Lynnfield got its goal after a scrum in front of the net thanks in part to the aggressive play of Miller — who is usually a defender — in the box. The ball bounced its way onto Goguen’s foot, and the senior buried the eventual game winner.
Newburyport had a chance to tie the score up late after earning a direct free kick, but Nardone stepped up with a huge save for the Pioneers to punctuate the win.
With the season wrapped up, the Pioneers now say goodbye to their group of 10 seniors — captain Lauren Braconnier, captain Julia Colucci, captain Ashley Mitchell, captain Lauren Mitchell, Jenna Brodigan, Kiera Burns, Emily Goguen, Michelle Miller, Lindsay Nardone and Erin Sharkey.
“This was such a hard season to play in, and it goes all the way back to the summer when these girls really had no idea if they’d be able to play,” said Vermont. “This group of captains was definitely the right group to lead the way this year, and our other seniors who weren’t captains played a big leadership role as well.”
Lynnfield wraps up the season at 4-5-0.
“I told the girls after the game, ‘you’ll never forget this season,’” said Vermont. “To go through everything they’ve been through this year and then to end the season like that, we couldn’t have asked for more.”
