Sachem Soccer Teams Continue to Win

It couldn't start off better for Winchester. On Saturday, the Sachems hosted a triple-header of sporting events at Manchester Field.

The girl's soccer team got Winchester off on the right foot as the Sachems defeated Woburn 1-0. This has been a little bit of a different year for the Sachems (6-2).

The team headed into this season undefeated in league play the last two years. So, while two losses are by no means disappointing, it was a little surprising.

"It was tough losing those games," said senior captain Shannon Quinn. "But I feel as though that brought us closer together as a team. We're really motivated before every game now. Our confidence level is definitely increasing."

Quinn gave Winchester its only goal of the match midway through the second half. After both teams had numerous chances to score, Winchester headed a ball off the crossbar within the first few minutes, Quinn found some room to let a shot go.

Winchester had a throw in deep in Woburn territory. Olivia Gjesterby set up and launched it to the foot of Quinn. She took one step inside to gain some space between her and the defender and fired a shot at goal. The ball, which started outside the goal, curved just inside the back post and into the net.

"I was just hoping to get a shot off," Quinn said. "I was just hoping to hit it clean and it just went in."

"I don't care who was behind goal, the keeper had no chance," said Coach Chris Scanlon.

Even though this wasn't the prettiest of wins, games like this will be what Winchester will need if it wants to win another league title and advance in the playoffs.

"It's a win like this that lets the team know we can play with physical and aggressive teams," Scanlon said. "To be able to survive a game like this, it's a great building block."

The boy's soccer team followed the girl's game with another victory, also coming against Woburn. The Sachems (8-0-1) won 5-1 and have now scored 13 goals in their last three games.

But it's also has been the defense that has keyed Winchester's success this season. The Sachems have allowed six goals all season, while scoring 37. With another tie by Lexington, Winchester finds itself in first place by two points.

"We're getting to the point where we're starting to hit our midseason form," Coach Paul Austin said. "We're getting more opportunities, but we're still not hitting on all of them. But it's also that our defense has not allowed many scoring chances for the other teams. It's been a complete team effort."

The Winchester football team could not wrap up the sweep as the Sachems (0-4) fell to Wakefield, 10-3.