Page 18 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, OCTObER 27, 2023 Tide girls’ soccer team sweeps the week against the Lynn schools Everett blanks Classical in a hard-fought game on Senior Day By Joe McConnell T he Everett High School girls’ soccer team (6-10) swept last week with wins over Lynn English (6-0) and Lynn Classical (1-0). The victory over the Rams last Thursday (Oct. 19) was especially meaningful, because it was the team’s Senior Day at 7-Acre Park. But before that triumph, the Crimson Tide girls took on the Bulldogs at Lynn’s Manning Field on Oct. 17, which just happened to coincide with coach Dom Persuitte’s birthday. His team wanted to win this game for him, and they did it in very impressive fashion. “The girls came out on fire, continuously moving the ball around the entire field,” said Persuitte afterwards. Kathleen De Souza netted two goals to help pace the offensive attack after returning from an injury. Yelsa Garcia set up her first score. Her second goal was assisted by captain Layla Cardona via a well-placed corner kick. “On top of her two goals, Kathleen also assisted on Yelsa Garcia’s first of two scores,” added the coach. Cardona, who is the team’s free-kick specialist, was credited with assisting on Garcia’s second tally. The Everett captain accounted for the other two goals to evenly divide the offense in this game among the three players. Garcia is the team’s leading scorer this fall. Luna Sepulveda Maselli initiated Cardona’s first marker with a cross-field pass. Her second score was on a solo effort after picking off Lynn’s defense. Goalie Alondra Flores and sophomore Veronica Pineda Coto, a recent call-up from the JV squad, split the goaltending chores to share in the shutout performance. Junior Shaylee Perez and Xiomara Perez also came up from JVs, and their play, too, was critical in this win, according to the Everett coach. “The entire team played as one, and everyone came into this game knowing what was on the line,” the coach added. “The defensive line play was also incredible, led by captain Shyann Ambersley.” Two days later, Everett’s inspired play continued to give the graduating seniors a proper sendoff on their day. The game ended up being a close, hard-fought victory for the home team. “My girls came out on fire once again, and refused to let up,” said Persuitte. “The game went back and forth, with both teams playing aggressively, before we prevailed in the end.” Flores floated the ball over the back defensive line to Garcia, who utilized her speed to catch up with it. She continued downfield, where she eventually beat the Lynn Classical goalie with the game’s lone goal. Winger Sofia Arana-Quintanilla was an unsung hero in this game. She was able to control the entire left side of the field, which made it difficult for the Lynn defense. Cardona and Maselli maintained order as midfielders. Shyann Ambersley led the defense, making stop after stop, along with Gleidy Tejada, Casey Martinez and Maria Silvestri. Emilia Maria-Babcock recorded her first shutout in her new role as the team’s goalie. She has made the transition seamlessly after replacing the injured Laura Sanchez, who broke her thumb earlier in the year. “The team played exactly how we wanted them to play in this game – together and as one,” said Persuitte. “The seniors who played made it a night for everyone to remember. Many of their classmates, however, couldn’t play, because of injuries. The entire coaching staff is incredibly proud of this group of athletes after they showed dedication to the senior girls on the team.” The Everett girls started a brand-new week with a 4-0 loss to Medford on Monday. More on that game will be in next week’s Advocate. They then took on non-league Lowell on Oct. 25 (after press deadline) before wrapping up the regular season later today (Friday, Oct. 27) at home against Stoneham, starting at 4:15 p.m. The Tide is the 50th ranked team in Division 1, according to the latest power rankings.
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