Photo by Jack Blessington
By Toby Morollo
Sports Reporter
The Newton South girls’ soccer team advanced to the South sectional semi-finals with a 2-1 win over Marshfield at home today.
The girls’ team has been dominant all season, ending with a league season record of 19-1 and claiming the DCL title.
With such a successful regular season came home field advantage in the playoffs. Hosting a fierce offense and aggressive defense from Marshfield, the Lions used their intensity to beat the Rams.
The first goal came roughly halfway through the first half from junior Audrey Lavey after the goalie bobbled a save on a corner kick from junior Bella Ertel. There was a scramble in the box, but Lavey finally punched it in to put South ahead 1-0.
Coming out strong in the second half, Marshfield held possession for the majority of the time. They took more shots than the Lions, and finally scored on a header that floated into the side netting to tie the game 1-1.
Later in the second half, the Lions regained momentum and took back the lead as well. Coming off a great pass from Junior Maia Madison from midfield, sophomore Laurissa Williams tapped in the goal to take a 2-1 lead.
South’s solid defense held Marshfield’s unrelenting offense for the final 28 minutes of the game, ultimately sending them to the next round of the playoffs.
Junior Rosie McLeod commented on the defensive performance.
“Defensively we worked really hard today, and so did [Williams] when she dropped to midfield after we got a 2-1 lead,” she said. “[Marshfield was] strong, but we held them off.”
South’s strong back line, consisting of McLeod, Jordan Briney, Dany La Camera, and Willa Frantzis, kept the Lions in the game and kept their season alive.
Senior captain Chloe Frantzis commented on the intensity of the game.
“The game was definitely the most intense game we’ve ever played. It was super tough with a lot of fouls,” she said.
The girls will take on Whitman Hanson under the lights in Natick on Thursday at 7:15 pm where they will look to advance to the South sectional final.
