Senior night was very successful for the Porkers, with a 7-0 win over Brookline. The eleven senior Porkers played their last regular season game on Turco Field last Thursday. All eleven seniors started and played the entire first half for Walpole. Senior Jackie Beaduet got the only goal of the first half, her first goal ever as a Porker. Walpole played much better in the second half of the game, scoring six additional goals.
The Porkers have five first-team all-stars and one second-team all-star in the Bay State League on their roster this year. Senior Captain Michaela Tosone, senior Nicky Browne, junior Brooke Matherson, junior Caroline Feeley, and junior Ashley Waldron were all awarded first-team, and senior Captain Holly Norberg was awarded second-team. These players, along with the rest of the team, have helped the Porkers become the Bay State League Champions, along with their number one ranking in the state for division one teams.
After the Porkers’ undefeated regular season, they have high hopes for the playoffs. Walpole is scheduled to scrimmage Canton, a ranked division-two team. “The scrimmages will help us see what we need to work on for the postseason, especially incase any of our games go into over time” said Senior Captain Michaela Tosone. In the playoffs, if a game ends in a tie, they have an overtime period which is 7v7, instead of the normal 11v11 game play.
The postseason has not lived up to the Porkers expectations in recent years, so they hope that there is a better outcome this year. Last year, Walpole lost in the South Sectional Finals versus Duxbury, and had a heartbreaking double-overtime loss in the Eastern Mass Finals two years ago.
The Porkers have a first round bye, and are scheduled to play the winner of Somerset Berkley versus Dartmouth this Saturday at 4 PM on Turco Field. “We have to look at each game and take the playoffs one game at a time,” said Tosone. The Porkers look to avenge previous heartbreaking late-season losses to claim their eleventh State Championship Title.
