Lynnfield High’s Pioneer Stadium was the place to be Saturday if you love soccer. The high school celebrated Senior Day with a Pioneers’ day-night doubleheader against Essex Tech, as well as the day-long Lynnfield Youth Soccer Club’s Family Day.
While Senior Day games are always special for high school student-athletes, many of whom will see their athletic careers come to a close at the end of the season, this day was extra special as both Pioneers pulled off a shutout sweep with the girls prevailing in the opener, 4-0, and boys following with a 5-0 win. It was only fitting that senior captain Dhimitri Dono, the only four-year member of the boys’ varsity team, put the game away with two goals in the second half – the first goals of his career.
“He’s been a huge, huge factor for us for four years and has really stepped up,” boys’ coach Brent Munroe said. “I cannot say enough good things about him and our other seniors, Nate Clancy, captain Brendan Sokop, and Dylan Damiani. They have all played huge roles on our team. They played great today and have played great all year.”
Girls’ coach Mark Vermont felt the same way about his seniors.
“I can’t say enough about their leadership and their contributions to this year’s team,” he said. “Captains Ava Gamache, Ally Sykes, and Keely Briggs have been outstanding and Catie Kampersal, Addie Connelly, and Megan Woods have also been such important players for us. They will all be missed next year.”
Once again this year, LYSC added to the Senior Day atmosphere with its annual Family Fun Day, a fun-filled day featuring popular carnival-like games and attractions, food trucks, raffles and more. LYSC players were an integral part of the festivities, escorting the Lynnfield and Essex Tech teams onto the field prior to the start of both games.
“It was a great day and a great experience for the youth players who were introduced to our programs,” Vermont said.
“I really like being able to connect with the youth program in this way,” Munroe said. “To be honest, it’s great that having the Lynnfield Youth program family day means we have a Senior Day with so many people here in the stadium. If it wasn’t for that, we wouldn’t have nearly as many people here.”
The girls team jumped out to a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game. Emma Rose (2 assists) played a perfect through ball to Bella Carroll (2 goals) in the middle, who slipped behind the defense and slammed it home. Bella Sykes made it a 2-0 game with a little more than nine minutes to go in the half with a header off a Rose corner kick.
In the second half, the Pioneers picked up where they left off. Three minutes in, Kampersal played a through ball to Carroll, alone inside the box. Carroll chipped it past the goalie to make it 3-0, Lynnfield.
Hannah Ozanian capped the scoring in the 61st minute. She took a pass from Ava Damiani and broke in alone on the Essex Tech keeper, finishing low to seal the win.
Gamache picked up her fifth shutout of the season. Under her lead, the Pioneers have allowed only 10 goals this season (7 in league play) and the Pioneers are now 10-2-1.
“Senior Day is always a great day, and to come out with a win like this is very meaningful,” Gamache said. “Everyone has worked so hard this year. Today, all of our seniors played incredibly well. They were just awesome.”
While the girls’ game was in the books, Carroll still had work to do; she sang (beautifully, by the way) the National Anthem to kick off the boys game.
The boys dominated possession early, but did not break through until the 18th minute. It was worth the wait.
After the defense cleared a Tech free kick from the 50, the Pioneers countered the other way. Allesandro Raimondi collected a loose ball and played it through to Dillon Reilly streaking down the left side. He crossed the ball across the field, just inside the 18 to the far post, where Joel Anthony slammed it home.
Lynnfield doubled the lead to 2-0 about a minute later when Sokop sent a through ball to Reilly at the 30, flying down the middle of the field. Tech’s goalie came way off his line to challenge, but Reilly faked to his right and polished off the empty-netter to send the Pioneers into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
The second half was chippy, to say the least, with the teams combining for six yellow cards (there also was one in the first half). Reilly, the Pioneers’ leading scorer, left the field midway through the half with a leg injury. Munroe said he hopes the injury is minor and that it doesn’t take much time for Reilly to recover.
Sokop (from Reilly) and Dono (2 goals, first from Chris Calnan, then unassisted) completed the scoring for the Pioneers, who are now 11-1-1.
Both teams are back in action Monday against North Reading, the boys at home and the girls (10-2-1) on the road.
Munroe said the boys game will be a big one.
“We are both undefeated in league play and tied them 0-0 earlier this year,” Munroe said. “We both have three games left, so the league title, no doubt, might come down to this game.”
