THE MELROSE High girls’ soccer team is preparing for playoffs this weekend. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)

THE MELROSE High girls’ soccer team is preparing for playoffs this weekend. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)

MELROSE—For the first time in over five years, the Melrose High girls’ varsity soccer team is going to playoffs.

Brackets were announced at press time on Wednesday, with No. 18 seed Melrose (7-6-5) prepared to travel to No. 15 seed East Longmeadow for the opening round of their playoff run sometime this weekend. (Fans are encouraged to visit the MIAA site as www.miaa.net or our social media pages for up-to-date game info.)

Although during Melrose’s shortened COVID-19 season of Fall 2020 saw Melrose perform excellently, there were no official playoffs, so this means its Melrose’s first entry under head coach, Rob Mahoney. After nearly twenty games this fall, it’s safe to say this team is ready. Melrose wrapped up their regular season schedule against familiar league opponents Stoneham and Wilmington last week, taking a tie and narrow loss, but played competitive in both games.

“I think those were representative of how we’ve played most of the season when we were healthy,” says coach Mahoney of the 0-0 even tie with Wilmington and 1-0 loss to Stoneham. “The Stoneham game was a much better performance than the first time around back in September, and I’m proud of the effort from the entire team.”

Melrose’s offense has decreased slightly with some key injuries, but Mahoney is proud how they’ve rebounded and remain focused. Says the coach, “While we’ve had some injuries and other factors keeping players out in recent weeks, I’m proud of the players who have stepped up and put in strong performances. All season we’ve been working on different ways to create offensive chances, and we’re exploring different ways to do this, whether it be through set pieces or other scenarios.”

Meanwhile, their defense has double downed in their efforts.

“Our defensive play has been instrumental in keeping us in games throughout the entire season, including the last few weeks. Our whole team works hard on defending as an entire unit; in the event the ball gets to the backs, and eventually to Ava [Tormo] they’ve done a great job limiting opponents’ chances,” he says.

After a long season, Melrose can look to its relatively short past to identify a competitive effort they can model as they begin their post season over the weekend. Says Mahoney, “The game against Winchester stands out to me. We stayed true to our identity by being brave on the ball to keep possession instead of passing responsibility; we also fought back after going down 1-0, and then played strong defensively in the second half to get the win.”

Melrose will be expected to compete either Saturday or Sunday, and until then they have a chance to sharpen skills. Concludes Mahoney, “We’re hoping to be as healthy as possible in the coming days so all of the girls who worked hard this season to help us get to this point can participate in the playoffs.”