LYNNFIELD — On a Tuesday evening in front of their home faithful, the Lynnfield High field hockey team (4-2) defeated Pentucket Regional (3-3-1) in a defensive battle, 2-1.
Each team entered the contest with three wins on the standings page. Sixty minutes of field hockey later, the Pioneers were the ones to pick up win number 4 due to impressive one-on-one play and a strong net presence.
The game’s first tally came from senior captain Julia Carbone dribbling down the field and finding twine. The score showed 1-0 after 15 minutes in favor of Lynnfield.
Prior to the goal, communication was on full display. Head Coach Samantha Pindara has urged her players to vocalize more and stressed the importance of communication on a daily basis.
“It is the number one thing. If there’s no communication, nothing is going to happen in a good way offensively or defensively,” Pindara said.
On top of the goal, momentum belonged to the Pioneers early and often due to their ability to limit opposing scoring chances and spread out the defense with their spacing.
“Since the beginning of the season, we’ve been focused on getting back, using the whole field, and communicating with each other,” said Pindara. “We’re seeing improvements as we’ve gone, which is nice.”
To begin the ensuing quarter, the defensive theme continued, with Lynnfield junior Melissa Caprio stopping the ball just in front of the goal line on a golden Pentucket chance from the left side of the field — leading to an inevitable cheer from the fans in navy blue.
The pressure was on for Pentucket in the second quarter after a partial Lynnfield breakaway from senior Lana Sutera, with Carbone just missing on a backhanded attempt to the right of the goal.
That being said, the Panthers were able to connect on their passes and halt the momentum in the waning minutes of the quarter. The score remained 1-0.
In parallel to the weather in Lynnfield turning from sun to shade, the momentum flipped as well with Pentucket tying the game, 1-1, off a corner play courtesy of senior Haley Dwight.
The even score was short-lived, however, with Lynnfield senior Sofia Raffa finding the back of the net on a Carbone assist. Moments later, Carbone dazzled her way down the field and brought the crowd to its feet with two consecutive dribbling moves in highlight reel-fashion.
Senior goaltender Charlotte Radulski stood strong in net for the game’s entirety — kicking away opposing attempts and utilizing her pads both left and right. She and the Lynnfield defense were able to close out the game without any more scares, and the final score showed 2-1.
Pindara said two of Pentucket’s biggest strengths are their speed and strength, and she looks forward to the team’s road matchup against the same Panther team this October.
“They’re a super fast team. They definitely caught us a man down defensively many times on their fast breaks. They’re physical in a good way.” said Pindara.
Lynnfield is back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 28 with the team hosting Georgetown at 4:00 p.m.
Joey Barrett can be reached at [email protected].
