Warriors edged by Reading to fall to 0-2
MIA JOYCE, a junior, had a strong game and scored Wakefield’s only goal on a penalty kick in the first half. (Donna Larsson Photo)
Published in the September 11, 2015 edition.
By DAN BYRNE
WAKEFIELD — For the Wakefield Memorial High School varsity girls’ soccer team, playing Lexington and Reading back to back to open the season can be a bit of a trial by fire. However after dropping each of the opening two games by a 2-1 score, the Warriors are not off to a hot start after yesterday afternoon’s setback against the Rockets at Walton Field.
In game two against Reading, head coach Jessica Marshall’s Warriors played a more complete game in the eyes of their coach.
“We were solid all the way through,” she said. “Even more so than against Lexington when we struggled defensively in the beginning, here I think we were solid. We were working, we hustled, we were aggressive but still it wouldn’t come together for us up top.”
Wakefield took the lead early in the first half as the Warriors put pressure on Reading goalie Leto Katsoufis to earn an early corner. The Warriors nearly put the ball in the net and it would have been 1-0 had it not been for the intervention by the hand of a Reading defender.
The referee spotted the infraction and whistled for a penalty kick for the Warriors. It was Mia Joyce who stepped up to the spot and kept her kick low and on target to punctuate the attacking move for Wakefield and cash in the goal they deserved early on.
Reading wasted little time getting back the score as Reading’s Malisa Gandevani chipped a shot by junior goalie Emma Hickey from beyond 30 yards out. It was a magnificent strike that caught Hickey on her heels and, before she could react, the ball floated over her head into the net.
With the score again equal at 1-1 the Warriors needed to push on to get back into the lead but the forwards seemed out of sync this early in the season.
Wakefield suffered a blow on defense as they lost fullback Christina Freni to a head injury in the middle of the first half. Freni shook the cobwebs out and got back out there later in the second half, before being forced to come off following another head injury. While she was out on the field, Freni was having another outstanding game for the Warriors, playing stout defense stopping both crosses and attackers from making runs.
As the Rockets hit back on the counter attack and applied pressure on Hickey in goal, the referees spotted a hand ball by a Warriors’ defender in the penalty area. The resulting penalty, taken by Gandevani, put the Rockets ahead by a 2-1 score.
The score stood at 2-1 at the halftime break and Coach Marshall decided to switch some things up for the last half of the game.
“What I said to them at halftime was that our weakness right now is our runs from the outside mids. We had very little play from the middle to the outside mids.”
The most major change was the introduction of Courtney Hill replacing Hickey in goal for the Warriors.
“The two keepers still have a lot of refining to do but they’re fairly even in terms of their natural abilities,” the coach said afterward. “So we’re going to see what happens with that. Courtney didn’t play against Lexington. I was looking to give Courtney a go at it in a real varsity game this game anyway.”
Hill was welcomed early with a threatening attempt by Reading but she stood up to the test and secured the ball to clear it.
The second half saw Wakefield make efforts to connect the midfield to the attack but just couldn’t establish a link.
“This was more of a very difficult pill to swallow,” Marshall said when comparing the first two outings of the year. “Because I don’t think Reading had the talent or the speed that Lexington had. In the first half we controlled so much of the game, especially through the middle. Grace Hurley and Mia Joyce had a ton of time to work with the ball,” she said.
The defense was tested time and time again in the second half and Coach Marshall can be pleased with what she saw from her young team.
“Their one touch clears are fantastic,” the coach said of her defensive performance. “Jillian Fiore has really stepped up. Isa Cusack, who I wasn’t sure would play stopper or not, has clearly established herself in that position.”
Despite every effort, the second half was limited for goal scoring chances for Wakefield. A late push in the waning moments produced a corner but nobody could steer in the cross by Cusack put into the goal area at the near post.
Their record stands at 0-2, but the Warriors will be right back at it on Monday as they head on the road for the first time this year and take on Bishop Fenwick under the lights at 7 p.m.
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At Walton Field
Reading…………….2 0 — 2
WAKEFIELD……….1 0 — 1
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First Half — Wak, Joyce (Penalty Kick). Rea, Gandevani (un.). Rea, Gandevani (Penalty Kick).
Second Half — No Scoring.
Saves — Wak, Hickey (NA); Wak, Hll (NA). Rea, Katsoufis (NA).
