LYNN — Another day, another exciting traditional rivalry game as the Bishop Fenwick Crusaders (3-1) took down the St. Mary’s Spartans (2-2) 3-2 Wednesday at Manning Field.
With a late game-winner and improbable second-half comeback for Fenwick, it wasn’t a game to miss. After trailing 2-0 early in the first half, Fenwick fought back with three unanswered goals – two in the bottom half.
“They started believing in themselves in the second half,” said Fenwick coach Steve Flaherty. “I told them at halftime they needed to just calm down, and maybe they listened.”
St. Mary’s started off with a bang, converting a corner kick just four minutes into the game courtesy of Sophie Skabeikis (1-0).
Both teams peppered each other throughout the half as keepers Ava Divola (Fenwick) and Kylie Kennison (St. Mary’s) were forced into impressive saves multiple times over.
St. Mary’s struck again, this time in the 27th minute to double its lead. Skabeikis controlled the ball at the halfway mark, flicking it over a defender before running down the left wing and playing a perfect through ball to striker Bella Owumi. Owumi finished the breakaway with ease (2-0).
Fenwick wasn’t going down easy. After the second goal, Fenwick kicked it into high gear and applied pressure for the rest of the half. Jackie Dormer scored on a rebound from Keira Morgan (2-1).
Towards the start of the second half, Fenwick’s backline continued to be tested. McKenna Leaman, Carlie Salvo, and keeper Divalo all made goal-line stops on consecutive chances for the Spartans.
“There were some breakaways that St. Mary’s had that could have gone the other way…. I believe all [the team’s] confidence in the second half came from my goalkeeper, Ava [Divalo]. The player of the game was definitely my goalkeeper.”
As Divalo and the rest of the defense stood strong, Fenwick found its equalizer thanks to Maeve O’Donnell on a breakaway with 20 minutes remaining.
St. Mary’s biggest chance came with five minutes remaining as Owumi was on goal again, but Divola continued her masterpiece by shedding away her rocket on goal.
With momentum on the side of the Spartans and just a few minutes to the whistle, Fenwick’s chances at a full-blown comeback were slim, but possible.
Crusaders’ midfielder Callie Reed handled the ball well in the midfield before dishing off to Reese Spurchise who handled the rest, finishing nicely in the bottom corner to complete the comeback (3-2).
“I give [Fenwick] credit. They wanted it a little bit more than we did today,” St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley said. “You know, it’s a rivalry game, so I expected an effort out of them today.”
The rivalry between the two sides was on full display Wednesday afternoon, and Foley wasn’t the only one noticing the extra element.
“It’s a hell of a battle every time we play St. Mary’s,” Flaherty said. “It was a very physical game. That’s how we play St. Mary’s and St. Mary’s plays us…. I love it. It’s fantastic.”
Foley and the Spartans aren’t going to think too long about this one, and look forward to the future.
“You just let it go. It’s not the end of the world,” Foley said. “We’ve got 13 more regular season games to go, so we come back to work.”
