The Under-16 District 7 girls soccer team raises the championship plaque for the fourth straight time. (Photo by Jose Negron)
WESTFIELD – Four times better!
The Under-16 District 7 girls soccer team defended three straight years of soccer championships last weekend in Lancaster in the Massachusetts Youth Soccer Association’s District Select Program tournament.
Several players on the current team were also on the one that won the championship a year ago.
The 2015 D7 squad, playing as a U11 team, was the first Western Massachusetts championship in more than a decade. This year’s team was comprised of girls that will range from sophomores to eighth graders in the fall.
Overall, the District 7 team was typically about a full year younger than most of the teams in their division.
During the first four weeks of July, the players traveled to Lancaster, for weekly league games. They had tremendous success, allowing just one goal to another U16 team and tying one of the top U19 teams.
The team was anchored in net by Selena Negron (Easthampton). Negron will be a first-year student at Williston-Northampton in the fall. Negron has been the starting goalkeeper on all four of the state championship teams.
Unlike previous years however, the team headed into the state tournament weekend with limited knowledge of how they would compare to the other teams in their division due to playing fewer regular season matches.
Sarah Shaw (Southwick) looks upfield to distribute the ball. (Photo by Jose Negron)
Their concerns would quickly be unfounded.
The girls from Western Mass proceeded to go 4-0 in pool play, scoring a combined 14 goals while not giving up a single goal.
The primary back line of the team was made up of Sarah Shaw (Southwick), Tash Barnes (Springfield), Brielle Los (Chicopee), Hannah Duggan (Palmer) and Dana Chateauneuf (Granby).
The finals matched up the Western Mass team against a group from District 6. District 6 is made up of players from Central Massachusetts from towns such as Fitchburg, Worcester and Uxbridge.
It was the first time either of these teams had played each other during the year.
The Western Mass team struck in the third minute when Annika Jensen (Westfield) found Megan Alvarado (Westfield) on a cross that Alvardo buried past the keeper.
It looked at that time like the finals might be just like the pool play matches with defending champions overmatching the opposition. The girls from the central part of the state would not be undone, quickly fighting back to net the equalizer only minutes later.
Annika Jensen (Westfield) crosses a pass. (Photo by Jose Negron)
The battle between the two teams would then be on.
The match was an extremely physical game with District 6 having a significant size advantage over their neighbors from the west. However, the younger and smaller team would not be fazed or intimidated. They had spent much of the summer working on being much more physical and the hard work paid off.
Elyse Manzi (Holyoke) made a strong tackle just outside the penalty box and disposed a District 6 player from the ball. Manzi did not hesitate. After winning the ball, she fired off a shot that sailed over the opposing keeper’s outstretched arms to give District 7 the lead.
Halftime would find the score at 2-1 in favor of the Pioneer Valley players, however they would not settle for that being the final score. As the sun beat down and the heat increased, the hard work at practice and the extra conditioning started to pay off for Western Mass.
Megan Alvarado (Westfield) scores. (Photo by Jose Negron)
District 6 started to look tired when Emma Pedro (Westfield) found Allie Goodreau (Westfield) with an excellent pass to the wing. Goodreau would eventually beat her defender to get a shot off and past the diving goalie to make the score 3-1.
The next goal would seal the fate of the team from the central part of the state and seal the fourth straight championship for the girls from the west.
This time on the opposite side of the field, Olivia Crespo (Ludlow) would drive down the sideline and then make a pass to the feet of Sam Breton (Chicopee) who would beat the keeper to give the District 7 team a commanding 4-1 lead with about 15 minutes remaining.
District 7 would control most of the remaining part of the match, getting a number of quality scoring opportunities but just missing adding to their lead.
As the final whistle sounded the team stormed the field, surrounding their keeper and expressing their excitement.
The Under-16 District 7 girls soccer team celebrates immediately after winning the championship. (Photo by Jose Negron)
The championship was the culmination of a great deal of hard work over two months for the team, and it was also an opportunity to pay tribute to Dave Lepak, the former District 7 assistant coach who passed away unexpectedly this past December.
All of the District 7 teams wore orange jerseys this summer in memory of Lepak as it was his favorite color.
The District 7 team was again coached by Todd Jensen, of Westfield and assisted by Celso Sandoval (Palmer) and John Crespo (Ludlow). Miki Negron, of Easthampton administered the District 7 summer soccer program.
The District 7 U-14 Girls Soccer Roster featured: Megan Alvarado (Westfield), Tash Barnes (Springfield), Sam Breton (Chicopee), Dana Chateauneuf (Granby), Olivia Crespo (Ludlow), Michelina D’Agostino (Longmeadow), Hannah Duggan (Palmer), Allie Goodreau (Westfield), Annika Jensen (Westfield), Brielle Los (Chicopee), Elyse Manzi (Holyoke), Cristina Negron (Easthampton), Selena Negron (Easthampton), Emma Pedro (Westfield), Miranda Sandoval (Palmer), and Sarah Shaw (Southwick). – Courtesy of U16 D7 four-time champs
Four-peaters!
