LYNN — There wasn’t much doubt in most people’s minds that the St. Mary’s girls soccer team would be too hot for Lynn Tech to handle, and that the Lynn City Tournament champions would once again reside on Tremont Street.
Even Tech coach J.D. Perry knew what his girls were up against.
“We knew the challenge we were facing,” said Perry, after St. Mary’s 8-0 win over the Tigers. “What we did not know was the level of sportsmanship that would be shown.”
As it turns out, sportsmanship was on display from the get-go. The Spartans jumped out to that 8-0 lead with 15:21 left in the first half. After that, the game evolved into a center-field match for both squads, and both coaches felt that it turned into a beneficial afternoon.
“It (sportsmanship) was better than we ever could have hoped,” Perry said. “Very classy.”
The Spartans’ first team simply overwhelmed the Tigers. With less than two minutes gone, tournament MVP Brooke Moloney scored the first of her two goals. In quick succession, it was Saribelle Diaz, Sophie Skabelkis (first of two), Bella Owumi, Kylie Prezioso, and Ava Nason.
“It’s the Lynn City championship,” said St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley, dismissing any notion that the win was somehow tainted by the competition. “It doesn’t matter who you play.”
Still, it was evident that Foley called in the cavalry after the eighth goal. In came the subs, and the Spartans were content to work on their passing and run out the clock –- a task made much easier by the tournament officials’ decision to play running time after the eighth goal.
The only times the starters went back on the field were the beginning of the second half and to give the players on the field a rest on a hot, sticky afternoon.
“It was good to be able to do that (play the subs),” Foley said. “We are going to run up against some games (including Wednesday at Bishop Freehan) where those kids (starters) are probably going to have to play the whole game.”
Foley spared no praise for Tech.
“My hat is off to them,” he said. “They played the game, and they played hard.”
