GREENFIELD — Carly Blanchard’s first varsity goal was a memorable one.
The Greenfield High School eighth-grader’s first-ever tally proved to be the game-winner as the Green Wave continued to roll with a 3-1 victory over Pioneer Valley Regional under the lights at Vets Field, Wednesday night.
Blanchard ran onto a loose ball in front of the net and buried it, giving the Green Wave a 2-1 lead in the first half.
“It went off the goalie’s hands and I just booted it in,” Blanchard said of the goal. “It was really exciting. I feel like I have gotten better throughout my progression.”
The win kept Greenfield (6-1 overall) in first place in the Pioneer League South Division at 6-0.
“It’s good for the program,” Greenfield coach Tina Riddell said. “Last year going to tournament was great but today I said to them, ‘I just want you to know this is for who is on top of the league, do you want to see your name drop?’”
After a tournament appearance in 2018, the Green Wave are looking to up the stakes this fall. Not only do they want to get back to the dance, but they want to advance.
“We have to continue being strong and not backing off,” Riddell said of the path to earning a solid tournament seed. “Otherwise we are playing the number one team again and getting smoked. So we might have an opportunity to win a game and move forward.”
The Panthers actually struck first when Paige Loughman fought through a slide tackle attempt and broke in on a breakaway against Greenfield keeper Dina Samake. Loughman found the net to give Pioneer a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
The Panthers controlled most of the possession throughout the game but lacked quality scoring chances.
“We knew what to expect,” Pioneer coach Nikki Pullen said. “We completely out-possessed them. I told them this game is going to come down to finishing. This team is about crashing in the box. We’re just not doing that.”
The Panthers (4-1, 4-1) played without injured midfielder Alina Cecunjanin, which moved her sister Azemina Cecunjanin back to the middle of the field from her usual forward position. Cecunjanin played well in the midfield trying to set up Loughman on through balls.
“Pioneer had really good passing,” Riddell lauded.
Facing a 1-0 deficit, the Green Wave put forth a furious attack on Pioneer goalkeeper Anna Picard to put a pair of goals in and take the lead going into halftime.
The flurry ended with an Emma Savoy goal, assisted by Blanchard, that tied the game before Blanchard’s go-ahead strike.
From there, the Greenfield defense stiffened and Samake became highly aggressive coming off her line to take away passes toward her net in the second half.
“Dina has been working really hard,” Riddell said. “I really feel like she is a strong leader and a strong goalie.”
Samake finished with nine saves, including a brilliant stop just before the half. After a Pioneer blast dinged the crossbar, Loughman collected a rebound with a chance to score near the net. Samake dove at Loughman’s feet to bury the opportunity.
Kristina Reed assisted on Blanchard’s go-ahead goal after a cross from Savoy initiated the scoring opportunity.
In the second half, a shot by Eva Pruitt-Dahl was deflected by Hannah Poirier for a goal, giving the Green Wave a 3-1 lead it would not relinquish.
Picard made six saves for the Panthers.
Greenfield 3, Pioneer 1
|
Pioneer |
1 |
0 |
— |
1 |
|
Greenfield |
2 |
1 |
— |
3 |
Goals: (P) Loughman (G) Poirier, Savoy, Blanchard
Assists: (G) Pruitt-Dahl, Reed,Blanchard .
Shots: Pioneer 14. Greenfield 9.
Saves: (P) Picard 6 (G) Samake 9 .
