Medfield Girls' Soccer Opens Season with 2-0 Victory Over Norton

The girls’ soccer team began its Division 2 state title defense Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over Tri-Valley League foe Norton.

“We picked up where we left off last year,” said Medfield head coach Michael La Francesca. “I’m very proud of them.”

The Warriors were dominant a year ago, finishing 15-1-2 in the TVL and capturing the program’s first ever league title enroute to its first ever Division 2 State Championship. On Tuesday, Medfield returned to the field every bit as dominant as it left in 2010.

The Warriors controlled the ball for the majority of the game, especially in the first half, which resulted in two goals just under three minutes apart.

Junior defender Ali Gold rifled a strong shot from about 20 yards out that bended past the Norton goalkeeper at the 29:40 mark of the first half. Sophomore Ellie Siino padded the lead minutes later heading a ball put on net to redirect it past the Lancers’ keeper. After the quick strikes, Medfield played to control the ball and tempo of the game.

“I think the girls played a nice possession game,” Francesca said. “I thought we possessed a little bit more of the game than [Norton] did. It was just a little bit different style but [Norton] was a very strong team and I knew coming into this game that we had to control on offense and make sure the least amount of opportunities we can give them the best it would be for us and I think that’s what we did and we were able to accomplish what we wanted to accomplish.”

Medfield’s defense was smothering, keeping Norton’s chances to a minimum and playing the majority of the 80 minutes in the midfield and offensive zone.

“We have two new defenders out there that are young, no experience but they did a wonderful job,” Francesca said. “I thought Lauren Petit did a nice job controlling the back pocket. I was very happy.”

Francesca said he was particularly pleased with the play of Katelyn Murray, Sara Issacson, Jen Narlee and Mimi Borkan in net, who earned the shutout.

Tuesday’s game was originally schedule to be played in Norton at 3:30 p.m. but was moved to 5 p.m. in Medfield because Norton’s fields were too wet. Rain came down hard at times Tuesday, causing for sloppy playing conditions.

“I think the rain sometimes makes it hard to keep the ball on the ground,” Francesca said. “Just with the conditions, I thought they did a really nice job.”

Medfield travels to Hopkinton on Friday for a 6:45 p.m. game. Francesca expects the Hillers to present some challenges.

“We have Hopkinton, which is a strong team,” Francesca said. “We played them in the first round of the states last year. Pretty much their whole tournament team is back. They’re fast; they have some great speed on the outside. So what we need to do is control the outside of the game and give them outside opportunities and not inside opportunities. Make sure we cover the flanks of the field.”