WALPOLE – For the second time in three seasons, Natick is taking home the Div. 1 girls soccer state title.
It took a few timely saves as well as a pair of first-half tallies and that was more than enough as top-seeded Natick shut out No. 2 Bishop Feehan 2-0 at Walpole High on Saturday.
“It’s been great,” said Redhawks coach Dave Wainwright about the second state title in three seasons. “Of course, we accomplished it in 2021 and some of these kids were on that team. Once they got a taste of it, success bred success for these guys and they were hungry to go back and get another one. It’s been a compilation of these kids throughout their careers.”
After 20 minutes of neutral play, Natick (21-1-1) got on the board first as junior Megan Mela crossed a pass right inside of the box. Junior Kira Henderson put it into the net as the Redhawks led 1-0 in the 21st minute.
“We’ve been waiting for (Henderson) to get a goal,” said senior captain Kaiylyn LeBrun about the tally. “We’ve been talking about it every single game. She comes close every single game, but she finally finished. And this was the most important one. We are really proud of her.”
Natick added another tally just nine minutes later as junior Cassidy Moriarty connected on a header off a corner for junior Kendall Hacker to make it 2-0.
“We’ve played really well all year,” said LeBrun about the team’s versatility. “This has been our goal all season. We were pretty much undefeated. We possess well and have intensity. We bring it every single game and that’s what led us here.”
In the second half, Bishop Feehan (20-1-1) kept the pressure on and had a few strong chances called back for offsides. Sophomore Katie McMahon stood tall and made all three of her saves in the second half to give Natick the clean sheet.
“Our goalies have been doing that all season long,” Wainwright said about McMahon as well as Liesl Niedermeyer in net. “Two young sophomores that have emerged throughout the season just to finally find their way. They’ve been fantastic.”
Source: https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/11/18/natick-takes-home-another-div-1-girls-soccer-title/
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