LEOMINSTER – Despite a gritty effort by the Leominster High School girls soccer team, the Blue Devils came up a little short.
Senior captain Calista Vlahos netted the only goal of the game when she beat Leominster goalie Abigail Goodwin during the 67th minute as Shrewsbury notched a big road win Tuesday afternoon. The traveling Colonials spoiled Leominster’s annual Pink Game as they pulled out a narrow 1-0 triumph at Doyle Field.
The Colonials improve to 7-1-1 with the victory while the Blue Devils drop to 6-5 overall with the setback.
“We’ve been competing all season long so I told the girls after this one to keep their heads up, but we have to light that fire right from the beginning of the game, from the word go and not wait until the second half,” said Leominster head coach Katie Gingras. “When we play against the quality teams with really talented players who have been playing together for a while, it will hurt us when we come out flat.”
Goodwin was solid in the defeat as she made 15 saves on the 16 shots she faced. At the other end of the field, Shrewsbury goalie Grace Conti stopped all six shots she faced to preserve the shutout.
Scoreless through the first hour of action, fans had the feeling that the first team to score was going to come out of this one with a victory.
During the 27th minute of the second half and the 67th minute of the match Vlahos found the ball on her foot on the right wing in the attacking third of the field. Vlahos blasted a shot on goal from 20 yards out that beat Goodwin by the right post to give the guests a 1-0 lead.
Leominster had opportunities during the second half. Senior captains Kiley Cuddahy, Sarah Potter and junior Shannon Smith all had golden scoring chances during the final 40 minutes, but Conti refused to give in as she maintained the goose egg on the Doyle Field scoreboard.
“We had a couple of small adjustments from that first half. It wasn’t anything major,” said Gringas. “It was more about lighting that fire in them and stepping up our game and we did that.”
In the opening 40 minutes, neither team could cash in as the goalies and the defense in front of them were solid. Leominster senior captain Lindsey Arseneau, Ava Mazzaferro and Molly Arseneau were stellar on the back line in limiting the Shrewsbury chances.
“Abigail was solid in net for us today. She’s a glorified goalie for us. She played last year as a defender and we needed a goalie because we didn’t have a set keeper back there,” said Gingras. “She’s stepped up and done a wonderful job for us. She understands the game and she understands the fluid motion of what’s expected. Having her back there has been really helpful.”
Both teams are back in action on Thursday afternoon. Leominster travels to the Morgan Bowl to battle the host Hawks of Hudson High. Shrewsbury visits Lane Field where Wachusett Regional will be waiting.
