Panthers sweep doubleheader from 'Cats
BARRE — Needing just one more point over their final four games to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2013, the Quabbin Regional girls' soccer team took care of business early.
Nothing came easy against Mid-Wach C foe Gardner under the lights of Alumni Field on Wednesday, but a pair of late goals by Riley Rischitelli propelled the Panthers to a 3-0 victory over the Wildcats.
Quabbin, which improved to 9-5-1 overall and 5-2-0 in the Mid-Wach C League with last night's win, scored all three of its goals after a scoreless first half.
Emily Rio put Quabbin on the scoreboard when an initial shot wide of the goal by Lauren Fletcher was blocked by the Gardner defender Suji Kim. The rebound went right to Rio who found a sliver of space between Wildcats goalie Keira Columbus and the left post to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The game stayed that way until there was just over three minutes remaining in regulation with a much needed insurance goal scored by Rischitelli, whose quick touch of a great centering pass by Fletcher found the back of the net.
Rischitelli scored her second goal of the game with just nine seconds to go, this time unassisted, to account for the 3-0 final.
After the final whistle was blown just moments after play resumed, the Quabbin bench spilled out onto the field as the team celebrated its first trip to Districts in four years when the current group of seniors were still in Middle School.
"These girls, their goal at the beginning of the season was to get more wins than last year and to make Districts and they did it with three games left," said Quabbin head coach Jamie Cook. "We knew tonight was going to be tough. Gardner has been playing pretty well the second half of the season, so we knew we weren't going to come in and take this win easily. It was 0-0 at the half so it was quite a good game all the way up until the end."
Most of Gardner's scoring opportunities came in the form of shots that were either wide of the post or well over the crossbar, as the Wildcats managed to put just three shots on net against Quabbin goalie Haleigh Kierman.
It was clear though that the Wildcats came ready to play once again after playing District-bound teams Oakmont (1-0 win), North Middlesex (1-0 loss) and Bromfield (2-0 loss) very tough in recent action.
"We've been playing that way all season. We play hard enough and we're talented enough to kind of frustrate these teams that maybe have more speed and more skills than us," said GHS head coach Pete Gamache, whose team dropped to 4-11-1 overall and finished 1-7-0 in the Mid-Wach C League with last night's loss.
"I'm proud of how hard we played and it seems like every one of these nights we're kind of two or three chances to every other team's 14 or 15, so if we don't capitalize on those chances that we give ourselves it's tough. The girls are playing as hard as they can, but it's a little bit of a role reversal from this time last year."
Keira Columbus kept Gardner in the game with eight saves, but the two late goals by Rischitelli were on well-executed centering passes which she didn't have a chance on.
Ava Cormier, Julia Jaillet, Cora Merchant, Heather Malloy and Kim also played well on defense for the Wildcats. Malloy and Kim both blocked shots headed for the goal by the Panthers when Columbus was out of position.
"We're a small team but the girls are tough," Gamache said. "They get in front of every shot, they're reckless with their bodies in that regard and they know I don't want to give them an open shot."
Gardner will wrap up its season with road games at Narragansett on Monday and at West Boylston on Wednesday.
"We've got nine seniors here with a lot of underclassmen that have been thrust into kind of important roles this year," said Gamache. "We'll have everybody playing a different spot maybe the last couple of games, developing for next year and playing hard for our seniors."
Quabbin has regular season games remaining against North Middlesex, David Prouty and Holy Name next week before the Central Mass. Division 3 Tournament kicks off the following week.
The Panthers will look to continue their strong play late in the year, having posted three consecutive shutouts during their current four-game winning streak.
"The girls are pretty excited," said Cook, whose defensive standouts last night included Emelia Gillis, Margaret Brooks, Kayla Fletcher and Delaney Gillis. "We've got nine seniors on the team and we'll see what we can do next week and even after that in the Districts."