The Porkers won their first postseason game on Monday, November 5 against Wellesley. It was the closest game thus far in Walpole’s season, with a final score of 1-0. Junior Ashley Waldron scored early in the game for the Porkers—giving them the lead. The Porkers continued to pressure Wellesley and to thwart any attack; therefore, the Girls left Turco Field victorious.
The first half of game play was fairly even, as both teams had scoring opportunities.The Porkers dominated the second half; however, they were unable to put another shot behind the Raider’s goalie.
“During the game, we played very well, but Wellesley also brought their A game. We were lucky that we scored early and were able to keep the lead despite the amount of defensive corners we had,” said Waldron. Both teams had several offensive corners, but were unable to convert these opportunities into goals.
The Porkers and the Raiders faced each other twice this year during the regular season—Walpole won both games. In the first mid-September matchup Walpole won the game 3-0 and went on the defeat the Raiders 5-1 in October. In both games, the Porkers felt as though they did not play up to their full potential, so they knew they had to start off strong in order come out victorious.
“A win is a win,” said senior Captain Michaela Tosone. “We have to take it one game at a time to keep advancing to reach our ultimate goal of being State Champions.”
After surviving the Wellesley game, the Porkers advanced to the semifinals where they matched up against Dennis-Yarmouth. All year, Dennis-Yarmouth played strong defense featuring their 6′ 2″ goalie, Max Allen. Allen’s athletic and aggressive goaltending repeatedly turned away good Porker scoring chances. The first half ended 0-0 and the tension mounted as the first 15 minutes of the second half remained scoreless.
With 14 minutes left in the game, junior Caroline Feeley stole the ball near the top of the circle and drove the ball towards the net. At the same time junior Brooke Matherson broke towards the net, reached out, and deftly tipped the ball into the net behind Allen. Dennis-Yarmouth spent the rest of the game trying to push up field for the equalizer, but the Walpole defense formed a stone wall that Dennis Yarmouth could not breach. The Porkers survived the final 14 minutes, secured the win and advanced to the next round.
After the game Holly Norberg stressed the team defense: “We knew that Dennis-Yarmouth was very strong defensively. We had to keep them off the scoreboard because it was going to be tough to beat their goalie. It was a good team win”.
The victory against Dennis-Yarmouth set up the South Sectional Championship game between Walpole and Sandwich. During the regular season Sandwich defeated powerhouse Duxbury and in the tournament Sandwich knocked off the Hockomock League Champion Franklin 4-0. Sandwich controlled the play for the first ten minutes. The Porkers first offensive rush resulted from good teamwork between Michaela Tosone and Brooke Matherson. Ultimately the ball ended up in the Sandwich circle and after a Tosone shot. Feeley knocked in the rebound for a 1-0 lead. While Walpole settled down after the goal, Sandwich continued to apply pressure on the Porker defense. As they had done against Dennis-Yarmouth, the defense stood tall. By the start of the second half, the Porkers began to assert control of the game. Eventually the Porker pressure wore Sandwich down and, with 12 minutes left in the half, Waldron ripped a hard shot towards the right post. As in the game before, Matherson was able to reach the shot and tip it in the net for a 2-0 Walpole lead. The Porkers continued to press their advantage and snuffed out any thought of a Sandwich rally. After the game, senior midfielder Darci Bruce noted how tough Sandwich was to play against. “Sandwich was very quick and athletic. With their big hitters in the back and speed up front we had to battle all over the field. This was a real team win”.
The 2-0 victory in the South Sectional Championship game propelled Walpole to Wednesday night’s state semifinal game versus Acton-Boxborough at Reading High School.
