Warriors’ hard work pays off with 4-0 win
Published in the September 29, 2017 edition.
MELROSE — The WMHS field hockey team took a business trip to Melrose on Wednesday afternoon, looking for a big league win over their rivals. They got it.
The Warriors shut out the Red Raiders 4-0, in a balanced attack as Wakefield got goals from senior captains Olivia Cameron and Vanessa Kaddaras, as well as sophomores Erin Heffernan and Annabella Forziati.
While the goal scorers should certainly be proud of the games they had, it was the Warrior defense along with junior goalie Alexa Pesce who were the stars in this one.
Wakefield came out strong right off the bat. Cameron scored the first goal unassisted less than two minutes into the game. That set the tone for the rest of the contest.
“Our job today was to come out strong and with intensity,” said head coach Cara Luca. We had a good practice yesterday and it transferred over to this game.”
With about six minutes left in the first half, Kaddaras scored the second goal of the game assisted by Cameron. Then, with about four minutes left in the first half, Kaddaras took the ball up the field, dodged a defender and passed the ball to the far post where Erin Heffernan scored her first varsity goal with a tip into the net, a play that the Warriors have been practicing all season.
“We have been working on getting the ball from across the net and tipping the ball in and it worked today,” said Luca.
While the offense clicked very nicely against the Red Raiders, bringing a 3-0 lead in the half, the defense was as stout and strong as they have been all season.
Alexa Pesce recorded her first shutout with seven saves.
Melrose put up a fight in the second half, but the defense did their jobs. Senior captains Julianne D’Ambrosio and Birdi Mylan did a great job all game, especially on defensive corners. The two of them worked well together to slow down the Red Raider offense.
With about seven minutes remaining in the game, the Warriors iced the game when Anabella Forziati scored assisted by Cameron.
The JV team also deserves some congratulations for their effort against a good Melrose team as they tied, 2-2.
“Overall, I am really proud of the girls today,” said Luca. “We have worked hard in practice and it has paid off. We are looking forward to continuing this win streak with Stoneham on Friday.”
Both varsity and JV have their work cut our for them today as they have to play on grass for the first time this season.
“It’s a big change so we will be practicing on grass to prepare for Stoneham.”
Game time is at 3:30 p.m.
