October 7, 2023
Danvers 3 - Lynnfield 0
On Saturday morning, the Varsity Girls Soccer Team traveled to Lynnfield for a non-league match with the Pioneers. Lynnfield owned an impressive 8-1-1 record and Danvers was coming off of a game vs. Swampscott in which they didn't play up to their expected level.
Off the opening whistle, the Falcons came out flying. Junior midfielder Georgia Prouty got the Team on the scoreboard only 1 minute into the game on a shot from the left side of the 18 yard box. Senior Captain, Molly Godfried assisted on the play. Only 6 minutes later, junior Liv St. Pierre hit a low, hard shot into the back of the next for the Falcons, a play assisted by Prouty. Not long after it looked like the Falcons had opened the game wide open. Sophomore DeAnna Figueiredo made a great sliding play to knock the ball in at the Lynnfield far post, but the play was called offside.
"We came out with so much speed this morning. DeAnna was making great runs at the back post. She was absolutely flying and giving Lynnfield all kinds of problems. Both Georgia's and Liv's goals were quality and we looked very strong early on."
With the third goal called back, the Home Team seemed to gather some momentum. Lynnfield spend a good amount of time in the visitors end of the field and several times broke in behind the Danvers back line. Junior Goalkeeper Maddie Dembowski made a great save on a breakaway and broke up another dangerous attack with her feet. Lynnfield also hit the crossbar on a shot keeping the game at 2-0.
"Maddie came up huge for us in the second 20 minutes of play. Her hands were glue today. She gave up no rebounds and positioned herself very well all game long. We dodged a bullet when they hit the crossbar but we had hit the crossbar ourselves earlier so I guess that evened out."
With the 2 goal lead, Danvers came out with tons of intensity after the halftime break trying to get the third goal. The Falcons had 3 consecutive corner kicks but couldn't cash in. Senior Captain, Reese Holland's headball off a corner kick would have been a back breaker, but it clanged off the crossbar. Outside back, Skylar Laws made several dangerous runs up the right side of the field, getting involved in the attack. Skylar, along with fellow outside backs, sophomores Lila Flynn and Addie Lamar were great at winning 50 /50 balls and denying their attacker's space in the Falcon end of the field. Holland won head ball after head ball and was a force in the middle of the field. Sophomore center back, Addi McCarty was a steady presence in the back for the Falcons clearing away anything dangerous as well as serving several long balls into the Lynnfield box off of restarts.
"Our Team defense was excellent today. We had a rough stretch towards the end of the first half but we fixed it and locked it down the second half. Reese won so many headballs and we were definitely outplaying Lynnfield in balls in the air."
Molly Godfried also had her share of 50 / 50 wins in the middle and her calm, skilled work with the ball started many attacking plays for Danvers. Fellow classmate and captain Krysta Zamejtis used her technical skills with the ball to combine creatively with Prouty and sophomore Lila Doucette in the attacking third. The Team defense of the Falcons was strong and limited any action in their own end. With a little over 5 minutes to play, the game was put out of reach on a second goal by Georgia Prouty. Once again, Liv St. Pierre was a part of the play and she got the assist. The game ended 3-0 with the Danvers Girls getting a great win against a very good oponent.
"We played great today. Lynnfield is an excellent Team and they put some pressure on us towards the end of the first half. But we were resilient and stayed strong. As the game went on we got stronger. Maddie was fantastic in goal for us notching her 5th shutout. DeAnna had a great game on the wing and we continue to get offensive production from Georgia and Liv. Great Team win today where everyone made a positive impact."
Danvers improved to 8-2-1 on the season and next play on Wednesday night at Home, 5:30 vs. Marblehead.