Newton South Girls Hockey Falls in Opener

The  girls hockey team dropped its season opener 2-0 Wednesday against Arlington.

Arlington Captain Kelsey Russell and Danielle Mallard netted second-period goals, and junior netminder Casey Schaejbe preserved the shutout for the Spy Ponders' win.

"I thought we played OK for our first game," Arlington coach Jeff Mead said from the Spy Ponders' Ed Burns Arena. "We did a lot of good things, but we also made a lot of mistakes–hopefully we get better as the season goes along."

Arlington returns the vast majority of its players from a year ago but did lose sisters Kylee and Emily Sullivan to graduation. Kylee, a 30-plus goal scorer, and Emily, a star defender, play at Holy Cross.

Arlington had the distinct numbers advantage Wednesday, as the team dressed 21 players to Newton South's 13.

Sophomores Hailey Hart and Kaylee Kee played almost the entire game at defense for Newton South, while senior captain Jessie Eysenbach and junior captain Abby Pressberg led Newton South's forwards.

Sophomore Karina Alfisher had 12 saves between the pipes for Newton South as a relentless Arlington attack peppered her with shots.

Less than two minutes into the second period, Russell took a pass from fellow captain Kasi Murphy near the blue line and knocked it off Alfisher and into the goal.

About halfway through the period, Mallard knocked in a loose puck in front of the net, with Michelle Reilly and Katie Cummings earning assists on the play.

Captains Kristin McKenzie and Alex Warren-Caldwell also played well for Arlington, as did Shannon Hickey, Emily Nugent and Taylor Norman.

Arlington returns to the ice at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 22, to host Lincoln-Sudbury. Newton South travels to Chelmsford that Wednesday for its next game.