Lynnfield 10-18

OCTOBER 18, 2018
WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 9
Sports
Luders, Bass pace Pioneer soccer
By Harold Rivera
LYNNFIELD — In a battle between
two of the better squads in the Cape
Ann League, the Lynnfield boys soccer
team found itself being outplayed after
one half of Monday’s game against
Manchester-Essex. Once the Pioneers
gained momentum and found their
footing, they started playing like themselves
again.
Pioneers co-captains Jonathan Luders
and Nathan Bass each scored a goal
in the second half to push Lynnfield
past Manchester-Essex in a 2-0 win at
Pioneer Stadium.
“I felt that we came out with a little
more energy (in the second half),”
Pioneers coach Brent Munroe said. “We
were a bit tentative in the first half. They
passed the ball really well. I think that
was difficult for us. We were on our back
foot a little bit. In the second half we
went out and pushed forward.”
Lynnfield goalie Jack Campbell made
five saves for the shutout win in net.
Defensively, Munroe said his Pioneers
were led by a positive effort from his
backline which consists of Matthew
Juliano, Michael Gentile, David Gentile
and Luke Martinho.
There wasn’t much to highlight during
the first half, though the Pioneers did
have their share of chances at putting in
the game’s first goal. Luders, who made
By Anne Marie Tobin
LYNNFIELD — It was a
banner week for the Lynnfield
boys and girls cross country
teams.
For the first time in as long
as anyone can remember, the
boys team ran its way to the top
of the Cape Ann League standings,
defeating both Ipswich and
Georgetown in a tri-meet Oct.
10 at home. Both meets were extremely
close with the Pioneers
topping the Tigers, 27-28, and
then completing the sweep with
a 19-36 win over the Royals to
improve to 5-3 and claim soled
possession of first place in the
league’s Baker Division.
With the wins, the Pioneers
are in prime position to make
history and claim their first
Cape Ann League title in program
history.
“I think we are in good
shape, as long as we remain
healthy,” said Lynnfield coach
Joe DiBiase. “We have Masco,
which will be tough and then
North Reading left, but we have
never won a CAL title. Back in
1998-2000, we had very strong
teams and I’d have to look up
the records, but the league was
not broken up into divisions, so
we would always lose either to
Masco, or Newburyport or both,
PHOTO | ANNE MARIE TOBIN
Jonathan Luders splits a pair of Hornet defenders Monday afternoon.
plays all over the field from the opening
whistle, sent a nifty pass to Thomas
Hauser with 8:17 remaining in the half.
Hauser’s shot just missed the outside
corner and the game remained scoreless.
Max Sieger sent a near-perfect pass
across the field toward the Manchester-
Essex goal but the ball didn’t find a
Lynnfield foot and the Hornets dodged
another bullet under the 2:00 mark. Both
teams were scoreless at halftime.
“I thought they outplayed us (in the
first half),” Munroe said. “We were
trying to pressure them high and they
so this will be a first for us.”
The girls team also had a good
day, defeating Georgetown, 28-
31, and losing a close one to
Ipswich, 27-33, to improve to
2-6.
“It was a big accomplishment.
Both teams ran well,
the boys certainly were ready
as they knew they had to win
in order to claim first place in
the CAL small division,” said
DiBiase. “Coaches Joe Wallace,
Dylan Rizzo and I are very
proud of the team.”
Lynnfield’s top finisher
overall was sophomore John
Astrofsky, who placed first
(16:40). Senior captains Steve
Dwyer placed fifth (17:19),
David Blake finished sixth
(17:26), and Joe Fabrizio placed
ninth (17:47). Sophomore Mike
Madden finished 10th (17:59),
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were passing the ball really well so it was
hard for us to pressure them. The second
half, we didn’t do much different. I think
we just got them to turn the ball over in
some areas where we could capitalize.”
After Bass missed on a close header
to start the second half, Lynnfield ended
the scoreless drought on a Luders penalty
kick with 35:52 to play.
“Jonathan’s taken all our penalty
kicks,” Munroe said. “He’s a great
player. Not to say he can’t miss one, but
he’s always happy to step up and take it.”
The Pioneers bumped their lead to
junior Sam Pifko finished 18th
(8:55) and sophomore Dylan
Pool finished 19th (19:00).
The Pioneers’ top finisher in
the girls race was senior captain
Annie Olsen, who placed 5th
overall (21:11). Junior Elizabeth
St. Andre finished sixth (21:35),
while junior Cassidy Shone finished
10th (22:44) and senior
Keira Rothwell finished 11th
(23:08). Other Pioneers placing
in the top-10 junior Sarah
Deschenes (14th, 23:34), senior
Lucy Madden (15th, 24:05) and
freshman Julia Seelig (16th,
24:09).
“It is real exciting and we are
very proud of their hard work,”
DiBiase said. “The coaches
have worked hard to find the
balance of rest, hard work etc.
The (new) track has enabled us
to have some good speed workouts
without killing their legs
on the road. Every Friday we
do a tempo workout on the turf,
and every Saturday morning
that we don’t have a meet, we
have a hard track workout.”
The Pioneers’ next meet,
their final meet of the season,
is against North Reading,
Monday, Oct. 22 at Bradley
Palmer State Park.
“Every year the team is filled
with great kids, but this group
especially has had great karma,
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2-0 a few minutes later, this time with
Bass firing the shot into the back of the
net. Lynnfield came close to stretching its
lead to 3-0 when Thomas Buston picked
up a pass from Jackson Cleary and sent a
header that just missed with 10:55 to play.
Lynnfield kept the Hornets at bay for the remainder
of the game to close its 2-0 win.
“It was kind of two different styles.
They were trying to hold it and move the
ball around and we were trying to go for
quick strikes,” Munroe said. “The quick
strikes, we got the penalty kick that was
a quick strike. The second goal didn’t
come off any real passing, it was a free
ball that we scored. In the second half we
got a couple balls that worked for us.”
The Pioneers (12-1-1) have a tough
week in front of them with a visit to
CAL powerhouse Masconomet Friday,
Oct. 19 (3:45).
“We’re definitely thinking about (state
tournament) seeding,” Munroe said. “We
have Pentucket and Masco. Masco’s undefeated
in our league and hasn’t lost in
our league in five years. Pentucket we
beat earlier in the year but they’re really
good. These are the three best teams in
our league. We want to win for seeding
but to be honest we’re also thinking
about it as playing tournament-ready
teams now. If we can hang with these
team, we feel we’re in good shape for
the tournament.”
Banner week for cross country boys, girls
a real positive spirit, a real
good vibe. The captains have
done a real nice job and everyone
is working hard, but also
are having fun. If you looked
through our lineup,there are
kids in National Honor Society,
many Advanced Placement
and honors kids, Math Team
kids, school government kids
and kids from every club in the
school, band, school musical.
They are really wonderful guys
and girls.”
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