Winchester Soccer Starts Season off Right

The first game of the season is always a little unique. The excitement, nerves, unfamiliarity players still have with one another, it takes at least a game to get back into the rhythm of the season.

But for the Winchester girl's soccer team, there is a little more pressure on the team. The Sachems have won the Middlesex League title the last three years, and have gone undefeated through league play the last two. And while, yesterday's opening 3-0 home win against Reading started the team off right, they know the expectations are high for this team.

"We have a lot of new players and lost some good ones last year," said sophomore Meg Hennessey. "There's a lot of pressure on us to continue what we've done in the past, but we have a lot of good players, and it's something we can definitely accomplish."

Hennessey definitely helped alleviate some of that stress as the midfielder, starting for the first time, scored the first two goals of the season. After scoring five goals as a substitute last year, Hennessey has nearly half that total after one game.

"The whole team helped score those goals," Hennessey said. "We played great, the first game's a little nerve-wracking, but we played well."

With about 19 minutes left in the first half, Hennessey put the Sachems on the board after picking up a loose ball in Reading's defensive zone. She dribbled untouched to the goal and slid the ball perfectly in the left corner of the goal, just out of reach of the goaltender.

"The first game's always a little sketchy for a number of reasons," said Coach Chris Scanlon. "Once the first game is over things calm down a little bit. I'm happy we scored three goals, but we're still working on some things."

Hennessey's second goal game about four minutes later when fellow sophomore Savana Kinchen sent a cross into the box. Hennessey kicked the ball and it deflected off the goalie and into the goal.

Winchester capped its scoring early in the second half when Olivia Gjesteby lined up for a corner kick. She sent the ball spinning into the box where Katelyn Weber was waiting for it. She half-volleyed the ball and sent it into the back of the net.

The Sachems were able to wear down the Reading side as Winchester routinely sent three or four players in at a time. They even used two goalies to help complete the shutout. Sophomore Mackenzie Koss made two saves in the first half, while junior Annie Langlois had two stops in the second.

"We do possess a lot of depth," Scanlon said. "A lot of our players are interchangeable at their positions. It gives us more opportunity in the future to do different things."

The girl's soccer team will get to continue their league run when it travels to Stoneham on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. match.