Westfield’s Becca Sullivan beats a Minnnechaug player to the ball during Tuesday night’s WMass D1 girls’ soccer quarterfinal game. (Photo by Chris Putz)
WILBRAHAM – The Westfield High School girls’ soccer team bowed out of the Western Massachusetts Division I tournament, but not without giving No. 2 Minnechaug a brief scare in Tuesday night’s quarterfinal game.
Westfield senior Keri Paton scored a late goal, but the seventh-seeded Bombers fell in a heart-pounding finish on the road.
Paton punched through a goal on a direct kick from just outside the penalty box in the 74th minute, smacking the ball off a Minnechaug defender and into the net.
“My heart was pounding – I didn’t really know what to do,” Paton said. “I just fired away and hoped for the best.”
Paton and the Bombers made a solid push in the final 20-plus minutes, making a more aggressive play on 50-50 balls, and employing a more up-tempo attack in an attempt to tie the game.
“I just wanted to make our last game one of our best,” Paton said.
Westfield fell behind early.
Minnechaug led from the outset when Kayla Murphy drilled a beautiful header into the upper left corner of the net on a high-arcing floater from Taylor Coopee just 3 minutes, 20 seconds into the opening half. There was nothing Westfield goalie Jules Sharon could do to stop the play.
Sharon (15 saves) made several key stops throughout the game as the Westfield net was routinely under attack. The Bombers’ keeper corralled a save in the 16th minute when a Minnechaug player curled a ball around a wall of defenders toward the corner of the goal on a direct kick.
Falcons’ Michelle Normand struck with exactly 11 minutes remaining in the half on a low liner to go up 2-0.
Paton’s late goal brought Westfield within striking distance, but Minnechaug held on.
“We were down early, but we stuck with it and finished strong – we put an attack together,” Bombers coach Keith Saltmarsh said. “We made it interesting. I’m proud of (our players). They played their hearts out all year.”
“This is one of the best teams I have coached,” he added. “Soccer-wise, character, the camaraderie – it was a pleasure to coach them.”
