Watertown Field Hockey expects to be the best. They practice hard. They train and play year-round. They have a legendary coach in her 40th year who cares about her players, cares about teaching the sport, but also cares about teaching life-lessons. So, while no one feels sorry for Watertown after they lost for the first time since 2019 on Tuesday, players were certainly eager to learn from the loss and move on towards their ultimate goal — another State title.
Watertown did just that Thursday afternoon, shutting out Wakefield 8-0. The first half was played under a steady rain, but didn’t cause much in the way of slipping or errant play. Watertown controlled the action, but just couldn’t find the back of the cage. The Raiders were even awarded a penalty stroke (aka, penalty shot), but Kaylee Master was stonewalled by the Wakefield goaltender.
Now is as good a time as any to interrupt the proceedings to heap praise on Wakefield’s goaltender. She was simply fantastic. The final score says she gave up 8 goals, but please believe me when I tell you how good she was on this day. She faced over 30 shots by game’s end (her opponent at the other end, Natalia Keuchkarian, saw one shot the entire game and no fault of her own was awarded with a shutout) and she made some great saves. She played a straight-up and steady style, she came out of her crease just enough to cut of angles affectively, and she displayed great reflexes as she kicked away shot after shot. Kudos to her!
But, on this day, rain or no rain, one game losing streak or not, Watertown was intent on keeping the pressure on and figuring out a way to put shots past Wakefield’s goalie. Avangeline Anderson was the first to score with less than three minutes to play in the first period. (She added a second goal halfway through the second period.) Ava Lamacchia scored next with less than a minute to play, and the first period flurry ended with Aisling Brennock scoring with seconds left in the period.
Up 3-0, Watertown showed no signs of letting up, and co-captain Sophia Setouhi added to Anderson’s second goal with two of her own to close out the half. The rain let up in the second half, but not Watertown’s effort. Brennock scored her second goal 30 seconds in to make it 7-0. Late in the fourth, Tyler Foley, who was all over the field Thursday afternoon, was rewarded for her fine play with a goal in the final minute of the game. Final Score Watertown 8, Wakefield 0. The Raiders move to 7-1, and will play two home games next week, Monday, Sept. 29 versus Melrose and Friday, Oct. 3 versus Reading.
—————————————
Scoring Summary
1st Period
2:50… Watertown 1 Wakefield 0… Avangeline Anderson
:45 … Watertown 2 Wakefield 0… Ava Lamacchia
:07… Watertown 3 Wakefield 0… Aisling Brennock
2nd Period
7:52… Watertown 4 Wakefield 0… Avangeline Anderson
4:00… Watertown 5 Wakefield 0… Sophia Setouhi
1:35… Watertown 6 Wakefield 0… Sophia Setouhi
3rd Period
:30… Watertown 7 Wakefield 0… Aisling Brennock
4th Period
1:00… Watertown 8 Wakefield 0… Tyler Foley
———————————–
1 2 3 4 F
Wakefield 0 0 0 0 0
Watertown 3 3 1 1 8