Mustangs Girls Lax Off to Best Start Ever

The two-time defending Greater Boston League champion Mustangs handed Malden a 14-7 defeat on Tuesday in a GBL clash at Pine Banks Park. Medford is now off to its best start since current head coach Matt Galusi founded the program in 1998.

“We played well. We were a little sloppy in the midfield and on ground balls, but we definitely played well,” said Galusi. “We spread the ball around, a lot of girls scored, we looked good.”

The Mustangs were led by Olivia Timmins (5 goals) and Mady Forcier (2 goals, 2 assists), whileLeigh Williams and Katherine Timmins chipped in with two apiece. Michaela Botticelli, Lydia Regan and Katie O’Brien rounded out the Medford attack, each adding a goal.

As far as Timmins and Forcier are concerned, their role in the offense is nothing new. Both are among the league’s top scorers. Timmins now has an astounding 14 goals in three games.

“Olivia has the ability to take over a game,” Galusi said. “She could score 10 goals a game if she wanted to...Madie Forcier, too. That’s a one-two punch not many teams have, so we’re lucky in that regard.”

The Golden Tornadoes (1-3) were led by Anita Caceda (3 goals), Tricia Aguinaldo ( 2 goals) and Maggie Surette (2 goals) in th elosing effort.

“I thought we were in the game,” said Malden head coach Jen Briggs. “The score might not say it, but I thought we were in the game.”

For the Golden Tornadoes, the season is very much still a work in progress, but Briggs is pleased with the strides they are making, though there is still work to be done.

“We’re definitely improving,” she said. “We’re cutting better, we’re picking the ball up better.”

The Golden Tornadoes were put under quite a bit of pressure on the defensive end of the field, as the scoreline indicates, but it could have been worse were it not for the heroics of Malden’s sophomore netminder Catrina Ascolillo, who made seven saves on the afternoon. 

Medford jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never looked back, taking a 9-2 lead into the break.

The Golden Tornadoes matched the Mustangs goal for goal in the second, and may have even provided a little drama had they been a little more composed on the attack. Specifically, a little sharper in the passing and catching departments.

“That’s what we’re going to work on Thursday,” said Briggs. “We aren’t going to do anything but passing and catching. That’s our thing, passing and catching.”

Briggs was pleased, overall, that her team was able to hang with the toughest squad in the league.

“We gave them a run for their money,” she said. “There were a few runaway trains, but for the most part, we played well.”

The Golden Tornadoes travel to Billerica to play Shawsheen Tech Wednesday, while Medford is at GBL rivals Cambridge Rindge and Latin on Thursday.