Westfield’s Chandler Pedolzky dribbles the ball upfield against Bishop Feehan during the Division 1 state girls soccer championship Saturday at Worcester State University. (Photo by Marc St. Onge)
By DENNIS HACKETT
WORCESTER- With seconds to spare the Bishop Feehan High School Shamrocks (22-0-1) stunned the Westfield High School Bombers (17-2-3) to capture the Division 1 girls soccer title on Saturday night at Worcester State University.
In the final moments of stoppage time in a game that seemed destined to end in overtime, the Shamrocks scored the go-ahead goal off of junior Francesca Yanchuk’s right foot. She traveled down the middle of the field before dribbling in between three Westfield defenders and buried the game-winning goal in the bottom right corner of the net.
The Bombers had one final chance to get the equalizer after the kickoff following the goal but the referee signaled full time as soon as the Shamrocks stopped the attack, just seconds after the goal.
Early on, Westfield got the better of the chances, including the biggest chance of the first half for the Bombers in the ninth minute of the game. On their second corner of the game a cross whipped into the Shamrock box to be met by a header from senior Kaela Mochak before slamming into the crossbar and bouncing out.
It wasn’t until the closing minutes of the first half that either team could find a goal. In the first half stoppage time Yanchuk found herself on a breakaway, drawing Adrianna Arona out of her net before burying her first goal of the game to give Bishop Feehan a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
Just seconds after the second half kicked off, junior Chandler Pedolzky grabbed her first goal of the game to bring the Bombers level with the Shamrocks. After allowing the goal, the Shamrocks found another offensive groove before beginning to dominate possession time.
In the 55th minute Arona did her best to keep the game tied after making an excellent save by coming out on the Shamrocks forward and robbing her of a goal after beating two defenders. Overall, Arona was excellent in net, particularly in the second half when the Shamrocks bombarded her net with shots, including a 10-minute run of play where she set aside 5-of-6 shots.
Moments later Bishop Feehan retook the lead after a beautiful series of ping pong passing in the Bombers’ box. On the play, sophomore Grace Robinson dribbled past two defenders before passing to senior Hailey Goodman in the middle of the box who passed it back to Yanchuk. She then bounced a pass to the outside to Kelly Coady who lofted a shot into the back left corner of the net for the goal.
But the scoring did not stop there, in the 70th minute Pedolzky tied the game after dribbling the ball into box before ripping a pass off of a Shamrock defender that bounced into the back of the goal, giving Pedolzky her second of the half.
In stoppage time, junior Catie Bean gave the Bombers another great opportunity after sprinting up the sideline and passing the ball to the middle of the box before the Shamrock keeper came out to make the save.
Not even a minute later, Arona kept the game level after catching a shot from Yanchuk right in the chest after a pass from the outside left her wide open in the middle of the Bombers’ box.
In a controversial turn of events, the line judge ruled Mochak offside with three defenders well past her after receiving a pass in the middle of the field with a clear chance for a breakaway before the whistle blew. Had the play been upheld, Mochak likely would have been one on one with the goalie with a chance to take the lead for the Bombers.
Just moments later Yanchuk effectively ended the game with her goal with just seconds left to play in regulation.
Both teams fought hard to claim the Division 1 title in an even game but in the end Bishop Feehan dashed Westfield’s dreams in the closing moments to win their first state title in school history.
