LYNNFIELD — With just a few weeks remaining in the summer, time is winding down for high school student-athletes tuning up for the fall sports season.
One Lynnfield team that has been hard at work with captains’ practices and summer league games is the girls soccer team, which is looking to make another deep run in the MIAA Division 4 state tournament and avenge last year’s semifinal, heartbreaking, 4-3 loss in penalty kicks to South Hadley.
To do so, the Pioneers have big shoes to fill, having lost key starters Catie Kampersal, a forward, and their three captains, Cape Ann League Second Team All-Star goalie Ava Gamache, as well as First Team All-Stars Ally Sykes and Keely Briggs.
But with eight returning starters, the season holds much promise.
“Our six seniors were so important in terms of their leadership on and off the field, so we will definitely miss them,” said coach Mark Vermont. “But we still are going to have a lot of returning, experienced players. I’m trying to press on them that just because we return, doesn’t mean we can replicate what we did or go farther than last year because we have to really work to repeat that kind of success. Because of our success last year, people know who we are and we play in a very strong league. Division 4 is very strong across the board and the truth is: we didn’t get all the way to the end. It takes a lot to go as far as we did, so we have a lot of work to do.”
The Pioneers, who finished with a record of 17-3-2 last fall, are hoping to start with a successful defense of their CAL Kinney Division title.
Vermont said the teams to beat – again this year – are North Reading and Newburyport, as well as Hamilton-Wenham, which is in the Baker Division.
The Pioneers’ only league loss last year came at the hands of the Generals. However, Lynnfield turned tables when it counted the most, stunning the Generals in a 4-0 rout in the Division 4 Elite 8.
Vermont said his philosophy has always been to load up the non-league schedule with the toughest teams he can find.
“League-wise, we won the battle with North Reading and Newburyport to win the Kinney. The reality is, both divisions have a lot of very good teams, which is great because we need to be tournament ready,” he said. “That’s also why we have Danvers (the only other team to beat Lynnfield in the regular season last year) and Marblehead on the schedule again. … They’re very strong programs, which will challenge us to take it up a level.”
The Pioneers will be led by senior quad-captains: forward Bella Carroll, defenders Clara Caulfield and Arianna Guarracino, and midfielder Emma Rose.
Rising sophomore Avery Haney and Guarracino were stalwarts in a formidable backfield along with Briggs and Sykes. Together, with Gamache minding the net, the Pioneers had one of the stingiest defenses in Eastern Massachusetts.
In 22 games, the Pioneers allowed just 19 goals with nine shutouts and another nine games with only one goal allowed.
Offensively, the Pioneers were a powerhouse, finishing the season with 76 goals. Combined, Carroll and Rose accounted for more than half of the Pioneers’ goals.
To say that Carroll had a breakout season last year is a huge understatement. The Cape Ann League Player of the Year scored a team-high 26 goals and delivered seven assists. A Daily Item All-Star, Carroll registered a point in 18 of the Pioneers’ 22 games.
Her efforts didn’t go unnoticed, earning CAL First Team, Eastern Massachusetts and All-State honors, as well as Boston Globe and Boston Herald All-Scholastic nods.
Rose also had a breakout year, finishing with nine goals and a team-high 21 helpers. The Pioneers’ most dangerous weapon on set pieces scored four goals on corner kicks, while also playing a huge role as the field general.
“She makes us very dangerous on set plays, including corners,” Vermont said.
Sophomore midfielder Giada Antidormi and junior midfielder Sykes round out the group of eight returning starters.
Other returners include seniors Morgan Hubbard (MF/D), Lily Rocco (D), Katie Connelly (MF) and Ella Hayman (MF); juniors Hannah Ozanian (F/MF) and Ava Cook (F); and sophomore Kaylee Barrett (M).
Lynnfield is blessed with a large group of sophomores who were called up to varsity last season. They saw action, too, starting with forward Ava Damiani, who was called up midseason and worked her way into the starting lineup for the postseason.
Others brought up include Hannah Doherty (MF), Jordan Calichman (MF/D), Sofia Giardino (MF) and Adriana Reganto (D). Junior midfielder Alex Schmidt was also called up from the junior varsity squad.
With the loss of Gamache, the biggest need this season is between the pipes. Rose said sophomore Victoria Minor may be Gamache’s heir apparent.
“She’s looked good in summer league all year, so I’m confident that we will be solid again in the goal,” Rose said.
“We do have depth, so we’ll see,” Vermont said. “We just have to go out and do it. It will be exciting. Hopefully, in a good way. We don’t need nail-biters and we know it’s OK to get up on teams a little bit, so I’m hoping that’s exactly what we do. We have the talent.”
