With perfectly timed goals and a polished offensive strategy, WA Girls’ Soccer was able to pull off a fierce win against Tewksbury Memorial High School with a score of 5-1 on Thursday, Sep. 11, increasing their current season record to an impressive 3-1.
As soon as the players walked onto the field, their energy was electric. The excitement was carried through the start of the clock as WA’s plays were intense from the very beginning.
The Ghosts ran the ball towards Tewksbury’s side of the field to start off their offensive attack. Senior striker Dava McClleland and senior captain Ella Pantoja remained steadfast at the front lines, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
Within the first three minutes of the game, McClleland, using a powerful instep drive, propelled the ball into the net to score WA’s first goal of the game. A few minutes later, the momentum of this play brought forth two more goals upping the score to 3-0.
“Our build up to offense with runs up the side [really solidified our place] in the first half and gave us a good start,” sophomore full-back Oriana Khusid said.
As the second half began, it was evident that Tewksbury was not giving up without a fight. The team seemed to be inspired by WA’s gameplay and assumed immediate control of the ball, forcing most of the action to take place
on their side of the field.
They were able to cleverly find openings and pass the ball to each other, resulting in a Tewksbury goal being made in the first few minutes, narrowing the gap to 3-1. Tewksbury continued to demonstrate their strength with raw power, a skill the Ghosts were still struggling to overcome.
The push and pull between Tewksbury’s offense and WA’s defense caused the game to fall into a standstill. After some unsuccessful plays and out-of-bounds kicks, this interval was ineffective in changing the scoreboard.
As WA started to recognize their opponents intense offensive strategy, they focused on clearly communicating to one another to avoid anymore assists that could result in Tewksbury’s possession of the ball.
“We played with really high energy and our communication throughout the team was consistent and positive throughout the whole game,” sophomore full-back Chiara Leiwant said. “As we continue our season, I think it’s really important to maintain composure especially against the tougher teams.”
Well into the second half, defense was starting to get more elaborate, with freshman striker Mia Weber, junior full-back Lyla Griffin and Leiwant artfully fending off anyone who tried to turn over possession of the ball. A major strategy from WA to execute this was to direct their focus to one and two touch passing. As a result, WA was able to regain control over the game and score two goals in under a minute.
During the final minutes of the game, WA focused on their defense to secure their standing, and to avoid any last-minute comebacks from Tewksbury. This effort paid off, resulting in the match ending with an impressive score of 5-1.
“We were playing really well inside the 20 [yard line] and working with one another to play good teamball,” head coach Tracy Capone said. “We don’t want one person scoring all the goals, but we want everyone to be a threat on the field.”
WA will face off against Waltham High School in an away game on Tuesday, Sep. 16 at 4:00 p.m.
