Pingree Girls’ Soccer Falls in Quarterfinals, Looks Toward Returning a Young Core

The Pingree girls' soccer team entered the New England Class C tournament as the sixth seed on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The team's first challenge came in the form of the number three seed team from the in Providence, R.I.

The Lady Highlanders, who finished second place in the Eastern Independent League with an 11-1 record (11-3-1 overall), were able to stay competitive with the Warriors throughout the first half, taking a scoreless tie into the break.

The tempo of the game wore down the Pingree girls though, as Wheeler was able to notch two second half goals and come away with the 2-0 quarterfinal victory.

"In the end their stamina outlasted ours," said head coach Beth Savarese.

Savarese lauded the play of senior midfielders Ari Twomey of Boxford and Alex Karamitsios of Rowley, and junior striker Rachel Kaczynski of Danvers, who she said "was constantly putting pressure on the back line of their defense."

She also commented on her freshman goalkeeper, Erin Cunningham of Lynnfield, who "did a great job of coming off her line and was aggressive throughout the game."

The Wheeler School advanced to the semifinals on Saturday and beat defending Class-C Champions the Brewster School - the number two seed in the tournament - 1-0.

Savarese has high hopes for next season, as she has a strong core of young returners that will keep Pingree competitive.

"Our defense is young and promising," she said. "Our two goal keepers, Haley Sabino [of Topsfield] and Erin Cunningham are only freshman and gained a lot of experience this year. Freshman Kristina Caradonna [of Lynnfield] and sophomore Jackie Maren [of North Andover] were regular starters in the back line and we will continue to lean on their strength and experience in future years."