Published in the September 12, 2018 edition

By DAN TOMASELLO

LYNNFIELD — The girls’ soccer team is off to a strong start to begin the 2018 season after securing two victories last week.

Lynnfield concluded the 2017 season with a 13-4-3 record and qualified for the Division 3 North state tournament once again. After crushing 10th seed Whittier Tech 10-0 in the first round of the state tournament, the fourth seeded Pioneers fell 1-0 to Division 3 North champion Newburyport in the quarterfinals.

The Pioneers will be fielding a young squad this year after a number of players graduated.

“Losing 14 seniors was tough, but I am definitely excited about the energy and talent we have with the younger players,” said Pioneers head coach Mark Vermont.

Three captains will be leading the Pioneers this fall, including senior midfielder Emma Montanile.

“Emma is very strong on the ball,” said Vermont. “That is her biggest asset. She has good vision and understands where she needs to be on the field.”

CAPTAIN TORI MORELLI (25) battles for the ball during the girls’ soccer team’s 2-0 victory over North Reading on Sept. 5. (Dan Tomasello Photo)

Junior midfielder Tori Morelli will also be serving as a captain this season.

“Tori has very good vision and good foot skills,” said Vermont. “She is a good distributor” of the ball.

Captain Liz Sykes will be counted on to help anchor the Pioneers’ backline.

“Liz is an excellent communicator and understands the game very well,” said Vermont about the junior defensive specialist. “She reads the game very well and has a motor that doesn’t quit.”

Vermont said all three captains have excellent leadership skills.

“All three captains are hard working,” said Vermont.

The Pioneers are also welcoming back junior goalie Amberly McCarter.

“Amberly has springs in her feet and good hands,” said Vermont.

Junior Anna-Maria Ferrante will be splitting time between forward and midfield this fall.

“Anna-Maria holds the ball really well and has great composure,” said Vermont. “She is dangerous with either foot.”

Junior Abby Lucich will also be playing both forward and midfield.

“Abby has really strong foot skills and is very quick,” said Vermont. “She has good vision.”

The Pioneers will be welcoming 12 new players this season. The new juniors are forward Emma Nardone, midfielder Emma Ricciardi and defender Molly Ozanian. The new sophomores playing on the varsity team are midfielder/defender Aidan Briggs, forward Emily Goguen, midfielder Julia Colucci, defender Lauren Braconnier, defender Lauren Mitchell, forward Ashley Mitchell, defender Erin Sharkey and defender Megan Nevils. Forward Adriana Parisi is the lone freshman on the Pioneers.

Vermont has high hopes for the Pioneers’ new additions.

“Eleven out of 12 played together on the JV team, so there is chemistry there,” said Vermont. “I think that is going to be very important on the varsity team. Our whole group of new kids are very skilled and understand the game very well.”

Vermont said the Pioneers’ chemistry is going to be one of the team’s strengths this fall.

“As a whole, the chemistry is strong,” said Vermont. “They get along well and are very skilled players.”

When asked what the Pioneers need to work on, Vermont said: “When you have a younger team like this, consistency is something we are going to have to work on.”

Undefeated start

The Pioneers (2-0) began the season with a 2-0 win over arch nemesis North Reading on Sept. 5.

After a scoreless first half, Ferrante scored the Pioneers’ first goal 10 minutes in the second half. Ashley Mitchell was credited with the assist.

Montanile scored the Pioneers’ second goal off a rebound with 17 minutes remaining in the game.

McCarter tallied five saves in net.

Vermont said Montanile and Ferrante played very well against the Hornets. He also said Braconnier, Ashley Mitchell, Ozanian and Sykes played “strong in the back” for the Pioneers.

“It was a good win,” said Vermont. “It was good to get our feet wet and start rolling a little bit.”

The Pioneers kept rolling and defeated Triton 3-0 on Sept. 7.

Lucich scored the Pioneers’ first goal off a penalty kick two minutes into the second half.

Ferrante scored the locals’ second goal five minutes into the second frame. Ashley Mitchell had the assist.

With 12 minutes remaining in the contest, Ferrante scored on a free kick to secure the 3-0 victory and second straight shutout.

McCarter tallied four saves in net. Sophomore Lindsay Nardone also played in net during the game after being called up from the JV team.

Vermont commended the Pioneers’ performance against the Vikings.

“We did a good job controlling the ball in the first half, but we were pushing the ball in the middle of the field and it wasn’t working for us,” said Vermont. “We were able to get the ball wide during the second half, and that is where we found success.”