LYNNFIELD — The No. 6 Lynnfield girls field hockey team opened up its account with a commanding 4-0 win over No. 27 Joseph Case on Monday afternoon. Despite the four-goal win, it was a close match in the first half, before the Pioneers turned up the pressure in the second half.
Lynnfield got a goal early thanks to a Taylor Valiton goal with 8:29 left in the first quarter. The goal was assisted by Lauren Mattia.
The Pioneers held a 1-0 lead going into the second half and despite controlling most of the possession, they couldn’t find the insurance goal. That was until Lynnfield created a remarkable team goal in the third quarter.
Four minutes into the third quarter, Valiton got the ball out on the wing and carried it 20 yards before finding junior Cameron Munion in the middle. Munion, without hesitation, passed it to Izzy Fiorentino who made no mistake in front of the goal, striking it past the goalie for a 2-0 lead.
“We’ve been working on our backfield transfers in practice. That’s the hockey we want to be executing. That switch of fields really shifts the defense which creates those opportunities. It really was a beautiful play,” Lynnfield coach Kerri Doherty said. “You practice like you play and that paid off today.”
Valiton described having trust in her teammates and knowing where everyone will be on the field, which makes it easier for them to play and score goals.
“I think we worked together really well and had great teamwork. We trust each other a lot and we knew where everyone was on the field and we took advantage of that today,” Valiton said.
For Gia Marotta, she believed the hard work that the team put in over the last week of practice had them ready and they just had to show it in the second half.
“We’ve been working really hard for this. We had a whole week off basically with just a scrimmage and a bunch of practices. I think everything we’ve been working on showed in this game,” Marotta said. “We scored four goals and all of them came from good passing and rebounds. It was great teamwork.”
With a 2-0 lead in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers continued to pressure Joseph Case. Early in the quarter, Marotta was first to react to a rebounded shot and her shot looped over the Joseph Case goalie for Lynnfield’s third goal.
“I was hoping at one point I would get a goal. I recognized that a lot of the rebounds were coming out straight and I just had to prepare myself in case it fell to me. I’ve been working on the one-touch shooting in practice off of corners,” Marotta said. “I was ready for it today.”
When asked what the difference was between the first and second half, Pioneers goalie Lauren MacDonald talked about the team realizing they couldn’t allow Joseph Case to stay in the game.
“We realized it was such a close game and we couldn’t really allow that to be the case,” MacDonald said. “We locked back in and got the goals we needed.”
The fourth and final goal came from speedster Mattia who was utilizing her speed on both ends of the field whether it was to create offensive transitions or to stop a counterattack.
When the ball went out of play, Marotta quickly played it into Mattia. From there Mattia went past a Joseph Case defender before hitting a rocket of a shot past the goalie for Lynnfield’s fourth goal.
“I was really happy that she got that goal. She controls a lot of the pace in games. I have to remind her too that she can slow it down and then go again,” Doherty said. “Her game is coming along really well. She made the top club team as well and has been playing great for us. I can’t talk highly enough of her.”
After the goal, Joseph Case had a few chances to score but MacDonald kept them out, and keeping the shutout was important for her and the team.
“It helps with everyone’s confidence, especially mine. It helps us to stay positive. When someone scores on us it kind of deflates us a little bit. It helps us to keep a positive mindset,” MacDonald said. “
The No. 6 Pioneers will try to keep the momentum going on Wednesday when they host No. 22 Saint Paul Diocesan at 2 p.m.
Doherty said she’s not looking at the rankings because she knows every team will give it their all.
“I went to the Saint Paul game when they faced Maynard on Friday when we had a day off. Maynard was the 11 seed and Saint Paul was the 22 seed. It’s tournament time and you can’t underestimate anyone,” Doherty said. “I think it will be a good matchup. I think it’ll be a similar game to today from what I saw.”
