LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield girls soccer team (2-0) showed out in front of its home fans Thursday night, scoring in style en route to a 4-0 win against Newburyport.
It didn’t take the Pioneers long to get on the scoreboard. After winning the ball back in the midfield, junior midfielder Emma Rose placed a pinpoint pass to Bella Carroll who used her speed to get a breakaway. She slotted the ball in for an early 1-0 lead.
“It really was important to start fast and score an early goal,” Lynnfield coach Mark Vermont said. “Great composure and great player… She’s cramping up, but she worked hard.”
Lynnfield didn’t stop there, controlling possession and getting to loose balls. From provider to scorer, Rose took a thunderous strike that zipped past the goalie off an assist from Bella Sykes to extend Lynnfield’s lead to 2-0.
Despite the advantage, Vermont wanted more.
“At halftime, we were talking about how two goals weren’t enough. A 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead in soccer,” Vermont said. “Newburyport is always a great battle. They’ll never quit.”
Ask and you shall receive. Within minutes, Lynnfield found its third goal thanks to an early goal-of-the-year candidate as captain Ally Sykes scored from more than 27 yards out.
“We pushed to try and get that third goal and we got it. That was a sweet goal to score,” Vermont said.” Scoring that third goal was a big tone-setter coming out of halftime.”
Lynnfield continued to control possession, and even when it lost the ball, the defense made tackle after tackle.
Despite the humidity, the Pioneers kept sprinting. Carroll tracked down the ball in the box, used her physicality to brush aside a Newburyport defender, and then blasted the ball into the top corner to seal the game and secure her brace.
“I thought we moved the ball really well and finished the opportunities that we created,” Vermont said. “We’ve been trying to work on moving the ball to feet and switching fields, and when the opportunity comes, bury it. That’s what we need to do.”
After two wins to start the season, Vermont believes he has a balanced team led by seniors and captains.
“This year, the team is more seasoned. Last year, we took some lumps and learned some lessons,” Vermont said. “Now, we’re back to getting after it I think [with] our leadership and balance between our veterans and young players. We have more depth and I think it showed today. We wore them down a bit throughout the game.”
