WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield Warrior girls’ soccer team captured their first win of the season, 4-0, in a league game against Stoneham on Tuesday at the Galvin Middle School.
Wakefield implemented an offensive shift that has been in the works since their first game against Arlington when standout sophomore Nora Fitzgerald suffered a season ending injury. It’s no wonder the Warriors have had to battle back without Fitzgerald on the pitch but it was clear in the start of Tuesday’s game, the girls had finally put the pieces back together and were eager to showcase their new-found groove.
“We got some really impressive performances from our seniors, particularly Aliza Margolis (2 assists), Shea Suntken (3 goals, 1 assist) and Emma Waldeck (clean sheet),” said Wakefield head coach Nico Manganiello.
The Warriors put the adrenaline on overdrive and came out pressing for the advantage. Just 11 minutes into the first half, senior captains Margolis and Sunken connected on a precise passing combination for the go-ahead goal.
Just four minutes later, freshman Teaghan Johnson caught the vibe and crushed her first varsity goal into the back corner off a give-and-go with Sunken to give Wakefield a 2-0 lead.
“She works incredibly hard at all times so it was really nice to see her effort rewarded on the scoresheet,” said Manganiello of Johnson’s first career goal.
The energy on the field was electric with players from the back line to the top attack getting involved in the possession play and creating opportunities in front of the net. The Warriors’ third goal was sparked by center midfielder, junior Stella Carlino, who threaded the needle for a through ball to Sunken to close out the half with a 3-0 lead over the rattled Spartans.
It wasn’t all offensive for the Warriors — much of the attack was built up from the back field with players like senior captain Megan Clark and freshman Abby Johnson pressing on the counter attack and distributing the ball with precision and purpose into the attacking third.
ALIZA MARGOLIS set up multiple chances for the Warriors, collecting 2 assists in their victory over Stoneham on Tuesday. (Alicen Encarnacao Racca Photo)
Senior Emma Waldeck came away with the shutout and her power punting kept the Warriors moving ahead.
“The back line looked great yesterday and is really starting to gel together in terms of chemistry and confidence,” said Manganiello. “I was very pleased with their performance to earn the first clean sheet of the season.”
The overall speed of play was accelerated in the second half which allowed for passing combinations that had sophomore Keira O’Brien and senior captain Rachel Caplin crashing the net and nearly capturing goals of their own. The Stoneham goalkeeper, senior Julia Bois, was hard at work in the second half with 7 shots on net and a barrage of balls just skimming the crossbar. Bois was steady and strong, fighting to keep the score at 3-0 until the 74th minute when Margolis’ relentless pursuit of the net once again connected with Sunken for her third of the day and the finishing stroke of a 4-0 final score.
“Overall, it’s nice to get the first win under our belt,” said the coach. “I think we’ve been playing really well to start the season and were a bit unlucky not to take results in earlier matches. With this win, we got the monkey off our backs but now we have to turn the page and build off it going forward.”
The Warriors (1-4) take on Burlington (2-2) today, 4:15 p.m. back at the Galvin.
“We have another good test against Burlington that we need to come out and take points from at home, so our focus is on that now,” said Manganiello.
