LYNNFIELD — The Pioneers field hockey team made a late push in the fourth quarter against North Andover at home on Wednesday, but their comeback bid ultimately fell short as North Andover held on to beat Lynnfield 2-1.
North Andover took control of the game early, constantly putting pressure on Lynnfield’s defense as the Pioneers had a difficult time getting the ball out of their defensive zone. The Pioneers were able to keep the Knights off of the scoreboard in the first quarter, but could not survive the offensive attack from North Andover in the second as they put up a pair of goals to go up 2-0 at halftime.
Despite allowing the two goals, senior goaltender Charlotte Radulski had a solid in net performance relative to the number of shots she saw and the amount of traffic she faced in front of the net.
“She played great today, she got a lot of shots, a lot of corner penalty shots, and she really held it down for us back there,” said Lynnfield Head Coach Samantha Pindara.
Radulski remained composed in net even with the two goals allowed as she shut out the Knights in the second half, allowing the Pioneers to make a late game push.
Lynnfield’s offense became re-energized in the middle of the fourth quarter after senior captain and forward Julia Carbone capitalized on a scramble for the ball in front of the net as a result of Lynnfield being awarded a corner penalty. The ball was bouncing around from stick to stick and it eventually fell to Carbone, who was able to wrist it past the crowd of white and red jerseys and into the back of the net to make the score 2-1.
“Honestly, it was the other captain Ava [Marotta] who did most of the work. On the corner, it was kind of whiffed up top, but she still made it work,” Carbone said. “She was able to spin it around and just get it to me where I could just touch it in.”
The momentum switched heavily into Lynnfield’s favor after Carbone’s goal as the Pioneers would get a couple more opportunities on penalty corners but could not capitalize. North Andover ultimately survived the late push by Lynnfield and was able to clear the ball multiple times in the final minutes to seal the victory.
Although the Pioneers came up just short in their season opener, Pindara was pleased with the way the team stepped up and fought in the fourth quarter.
“First game of the season, definitely still working out some kinks,” she said. “The way we played in the fourth quarter is how we know we can play. Now we just have to carry that over to all four quarters of the game.”
The Pioneers will have a chance to bounce back this Friday and grab win number one as they take on North Reading at home at 4:00 p.m.
Ryan Vermette can be reached at [email protected]
