Westwood takes fast lane to state final
Westwood was in 11th heaven last night, as the girls in green used a string of 11 goals - including nine to open the second half - to defeat Framingham, 15-6, in the Eastern Mass. final at Wayland High School.
The Wolverines advance to Saturday's state final against Western Mass. champion Longmeadow at Worcester's Foley Stadium. The Lancers defeated Westborough, 15-7, in Worcester yesterday.
Westwood coach Leslie Frank praised the work of junior midfielder Sarah Biron, who worked to keep the ball in the Wolverines' possession, and said her team gained confidence after it calmed down from early foul trouble, including a yellow card on offensive star Kelly Rich midway through the first half.
"It's so instinctive if you've ever played - you have this big stick and you want to go for it, but the one ref was calling it really tight down there," Frank said. "I felt like we had a lot of calls later on, once we cleaned it up, that weren't really fair."
Framingham coach Stacey Freda praised the play of her seniors and captains, but said Westwood's strong showing on 50-50 balls was the difference.
"Bottom line: draw possession," she said. "We didn't have it, they did, and they were able to counter it. You can't score if you can't have the ball, and that was just unfortunate that we weren't able to get the ball."
The Flyers, who lost to Westwood in the Eastern Mass. final last year, bolted to a 4-2 lead to start the game. But Westwood goalie Abbie Brown denied seven of the Flyers' shots to keep the score in hand.
"They got a couple in on her and then she was just solid. She gets that way," Frank said. "I think it's the team that plays in front of her that really relaxes her. She's nervous when she's hung out to dry, but as soon as her defense makes one or two stops on the ball, she feels like, 'OK, cool, we're in here together.' "
She also tipped her hat to midfielder Misha Beatty, who powered Westwood's offense by leading all scorers with six goals, including a down-the-middle zinger 12 minutes into the game that cut Framingham's lead to 4-3 and started her squad's 11-goal scoring string. The junior went on to score two of her team's first three second-half goals to fuel Westwood's momentum.
The run lasted 13 minutes into the half, before junior midfielder Tanner Guarino finally scored for Framingham, making it 12-5. But Beatty, who has verbally committed to
Longmeadow 15, Westborough 7 - For the seventh straight season, Longmeadow has punched its ticket to the state final. The Lancers, looking for their first title since 2003, made a strong statement against Central Mass. champion Westborough. Shea Kusiak led the way for the Lancers with five goals and two assists, while Lauren Halpern had four goals and two assists. Longmeadow dominated the midfield to take a 9-2 lead into the break, before the Rangers cut into the lead behind three second-half goals from Kayla Volpe.
