REVERE — Wednesday’s Greater Boston League final between the Lynn Classical and Revere girls soccer teams had a definite state tournament feel to it.
But it was the Rams who rose to the occasion and outlasted a big push by the Patriots to capture the GBL title in a 1-0 victory on the road at Harry Della Russo Stadium.
“As usual, Revere comes out of nowhere,” Classical coach Mike Schena said. “They’re such a strong, well-balanced team. But in order for us to compete with them I had to have a total team effort. I couldn’t be more proud. We worked so hard all year to get to this level.“
It was a night to remember for freshman Lauren Wilson, who scored the lone goal for Classical with Mary Collins assisting on a free kick. But it was a true team effort, especially on the back end for the Rams.
“I can’t even single anybody out,” Schena said. “Lauren had a big goal, Anna Flaherty our goalie played amazing and Mary is just MVP caliber. Every girl out there did what they had to do to make this work.”
The loss was a heartbreaker for Revere, which gave Classical everything it could handle in the second half but just couldn’t break through.
“Our second half was definitely better,” Revere coach Megan O’Donnell said. “Shout out to Classical, they deserved it. They worked hard from start to finish. Overall, it was a great game. I’m proud of my kids. I feel bad for the seniors, to go out in their last game like that. But we’ll be back ready to go in the fall. I’m proud of this team for the way they played the last two weeks.”
After several minutes of even play, Classical broke the tie thanks to a nice finish from Wilson. Collins’ free kick landed right on Revere goalie Camila Perez Herrera, who juggled the ball before it dropped right on the goal line — where Wilson finished the play to put the Rams out front 1-0.
The rest of the night was all about surviving for the Classical. The second half saw three yellow cards, some aggressive play and no shortage of Revere scoring chances.
Carolina Carvalho-Bettero had a free kick that was just barely deflected wide right early on. The Patriots followed with another set piece where Samarah Paiva placed a perfect ball in front of the net that bounced off a body and again went wide right.
Another great chance came later on a point-blank shot from Nahomy Galves-Martinez midway through the half that Flaherty made a diving one handed stop on to once again preserve the lead.
It took every second and a few more saves by Flaherty, but the Classical defense held strong and capped off a shortened season that ended up being one to remember for the green and gold.
“You can’t stop against a team like Revere,” Schena said. “It took everything, Anna played out of her mind. But I’m psyched, we did it.
“I’m glad we can bring something home to Classical,” Schena said “It’s this team’s first championship, so we’re excited about that.”
