LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High girls soccer team enters this fall on the heels of back-to-back appearances in the Division 4 Final Four, but having taken a huge hit to graduation with the loss of eight seniors.
Coach Mark Vermont, now in his 25th season with the program, knows he has some big cleats to fill, but is confident the team is up to the challenge.
“Even though we lost eight seniors, we have a group of sophomores from last year’s team who got a lot of playing time last year, so even though we have only four returning seniors, I feel those two classes have a little more depth across the board compared to past years,” Vermont said. “Both classes are deep and experienced.”
This year’s team will be led by senior captains Bella Sykes, Ava Cook, and Hannah Ozanian, as well as junior captain Giada Antidormi.
Sykes is the only returning starter with Cape Ann League All-Star credentials, having been named to the CAL first team as well as the All-State second team.
“Bella is our most seasoned senior and I expect her to, again, simply play her game at center midfield, but she can also play forward,” Vermont said.
Other returning players include senior Alex Schmidt, as well as juniors Adriana Ragitano, Sofia Giardina, Kaylee Barrett, Hannah Doherty, Jordan Calichman, Ava Damiani, Avery Haney, starting goalie Victoria Minor, and Sarah Mitchell, who was injured last year.
Vermont expects the defense to be strong.
“Victoria is in her second season starting and now knows what it’s like,” Vermont said. “She had a good, steady tournament last year with some good saves, so I expect her to be strong. And we have three returning starters on defense in Sofia, Jordan, and Avery, so they have experience. Adriana was a spot starter last year, so we have a good core of defenders coming back.
“Offensively, we have Giada, who is just so solid in the midfield. She and Kaylee are two extremely dynamic players. And Ava is strong up top with her speed and physicality. Those kids in the back – and with three players in the midfield with Bella and Hannah – I expect we will be solid defensively and strong in our midfield and attack.”
The Pioneers have been moved up to Division 3, which Vermont said might be a challenge having to go up against larger schools, but he doesn’t think much will change compared to past years when the Pioneers competed in Division 4.
“The high school is bigger now, I guess, with the bump from last year’s freshman class. All I know is we can’t change it. We’ll just go wherever we have to,” he said. “I haven’t really looked at it yet, but, no matter what, it always seems to be the usual suspects. No matter what the MIAA does, it seems it always comes down to CAL teams battling in the tournament.”
Vermont said the primary goal is to make the tournament and get the highest possible seed, but winning the league “would also be great.
“Ultimately, the goal is always to win a state title.”
Lynnfield last won a state title back in 2004, the second of back-to-back championships under Vermont.
In terms of the league, Vermont expects Hamilton-Wenham and Newburyport will be tough. He also said that when it comes to Division 3 teams, Triton, Pentucket, North Reading, Essex Tech, and Ipswich will also be competitive.
“Hamilton-Wenham lost a lot of seniors, but is returning a team that made it to the state finals two straight years. Their returners are good players who have made it to the last game two years in a row, having won one two years ago, but are still in D4,” Vermont said. “We just need to make sure we are ready to go. I can’t believe we are here already as I’m not really ready to end the summer.”
The Pioneers finished 2024 with a regular season record of 13-3-2, earning the No. 3 seed in the Division 4 state tournament behind eventual champion No. 1 Sutton (16-2) and No. 2 Hamilton (14-0-4), which was the only team in the division to finish the regular season undefeated. After a first-round bye, the Pioneers defeated No. 30 Advanced Math & Science, 3-1, in the Round of 16 and No. 14 Leicester, 4-0, in the Elite Eight, only to be eliminated by the Generals, 3-0, in the Final Four.
Lynnfield opens its season at home against Newburyport on Sept. 2 at 4 p.m. The Pioneers have just two non-league games this fall: home games against Danvers Oct. 18 at 4 p.m. and Marblehead Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. in the final game of the regular season.
