ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Casey Fraher (#15) looks to corral a throw-in during Thursday night’s win at Manning Field.
By HAROLD RIVERA
LYNN — On perhaps the coldest and rainiest night of the fall season, the St. Mary’s girls soccer team’s offense was red hot as the Spartans scored six goals en route to a 6-1 win over Greater Lowell on Thursday night at Manning Field. With the win, the Spartans qualified for the state tournament.
“This is a testament to the girls and the hard work they put in,” St. Mary’s coach Jim Foley said of his team’s playoff berth. “We lost nine starters from last year, we had some injuries, but to do what we did with what we lost is a testament to our hard work.”
St. Mary’s set the tone early thanks to Codi Butt, who found the net in the fifth minute to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
“That set the tone for the game,” Foley said. “I think everybody settled down and said ‘okay, let’s go.’”
The Spartans increased their lead in the 18th minute when Casey Fraher found the net to make it 2-0.
In the 25th minute, Joslyn Deschenes padded the lead to 3-0 when she picked up Fraher’s corner kick and drilled it into the net.
The St. Mary’s offense was fluid throughout the game, generating scoring opportunities in both halves and controlling possession of the ball. Greater Lowell was held to just two shots on net.
“That’s what we like to do,” Foley said. “We like to control the tempo of play and possess the ball and pass. When we really do that we can play with anybody. I think once we were able to settle down and play our possession game, I think that set the tone for the rest of the game.”
The second half was much like the first.
Greater Lowell struggled in creating opportunities on offense and the Gryphons couldn’t put any pressure on St. Mary’s keeper Emily Stephenson.
In the 45th minute, Kayla Demers scored to make it 4-0 in favor of the Spartans.
Gaby Diaz-Martinez followed suit in the 46th minute when she booted a shot into the net to increase the lead to 5-0.
In the 50th minute, Diaz-Martinez scored her second goal of the game on a shot that sailed over the keeper’s head and landed in the back of the net to give the Spartans a 6-0 lead.
“She’s (Diaz-Martinez) a freshman, which is nice because we have some freshmen and sophomores who are our leading scorers,” Foley said. “She’s come on towards the end of the season. She’s been controlling the middle for us, so it was good to get her on board.”
With a 6-0 lead in the second half and an offense that kept control of the ball, the game was in the bag for the Spartans.
Greater Lowell was able to get one back in the 75th minute to get on the scoreboard, but by then it was too little too late as the Spartans cruised to the win.
St. Mary’s has one game remaining, next Tuesday when the Spartans host Archbishop Williams, before the team moves on to the state tournament.
The Spartans celebrated their Senior Night on Thursday, with a ceremony honoring the team’s seniors during halftime. The four seniors on the roster are Fraher, Stephenson, Nicole Bendicksen and Olivia Bourgeois.
“These seniors have been with us for four years,” Foley said. “They were a big part of our run last year. I think they wanted to get back in the tournament. There was frustration on their part because they do work hard and they’re a great group of girls. I’m going to miss them but now that we’re qualifying on senior night, that’s even better.”
Harold Rivera can be reached at [email protected].