DANVERS — On any field, in any town, Masconomet’s dangerous senior duo of Kayla Scannell and Lauren Boughner can find each other to create scoring chances.
Wednesday night under the lights at Essex Tech, the Chieftains’ top pair connected for the game’s only goal to send the top-seed past Whitman-Hanson, 1-0, in a chilly Division 2 second round battle.
The decisive strike came at the 12 minute mark when Boughner, who singed her National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Merrimack College earlier in the day, fed Scannell for her team-leading 21st goal of the season. Though Masconomet brought a ton of pressure the rest of the way, outshooting the Panthers 13-4, the early tally wound up being the only one.
“Every game is going to be a battle in this tournament,” said Masco coach Alison Lecesse. “Sometimes in the tournament, you’re lucky to get one. Whitman-Hanson was a strong team, a physical team, but I thought we matched up well.”
Still unbeaten at 17-0-2, Masconomet will host Hingham (11-6-3) in the state quarterfinals this weekend. Wednesday’s second round game at Essex Tech marked the fourth location where the Chieftains had hosted a game this fall, in three different towns (Boxford, Middleton and now Danvers). There were some challenges in terms of adjusting to the bounce and carry of the ball on this particular turf and differences in width, but as they have all season the Chieftains adjusted and handled it well.
“There’s definitely an adjustment there,” Lecesse admitted. “I think we passed the ball well, though, and once we started clicking we made some things happen.”
No matter the location, Masconomet has yet to concede a goal in a home game in 2023. Freshman keeper Evie Mills kept that streak intact by stopped every shot that went her way to earn the playoff shutout. The toughest one she faced came when Whitman-Hanson (8-9-3) brought big time pressure in the final ten minutes.
The Panthers earned a corner that found a head but was cleared with ten minutes remaining, then Makenna Marshall took a booming shot that Mills saved to calm things down.
“Evie made some key saves, so that was definitely good to see,” Lecesse noted.
Whitman-Hanson had one final chance at a run, but junior Teagan Skulley boxed out the attacker and subtly knocked the ball away as the final whistle blew to send the Chieftains to the Elite Eight for a second straight season. Center backs Lilly Podgurski and Abby Moore had tremendous games while outside defenders Riley Bovardi and Nicole Schneider also shined.
Schneider had a great night pushing the ball up the sideline and created several sharp scoring chances in the second half. Boughner put a half-dozen shots on net herself while also creating chances for Amanda Schneider and Blythe McLean.
Kara Lindonen also had a solid game moving the ball forward along with Cate Shaffer. Generally, the Chieftains carried the play and kept the ball contained on Whitman-Hanson’s side of the field.
“This is one of the tightest teams we’ve played. They’re genuinely happy for each other,” said Lecesse. “Anytime you get freshmen dancing with seniors on the bus, that’s a sign you have the welcoming atmosphere. Especially in girls soccer, that translates to the field.”