by, Nick Lombardi, WSU intern ‘18
Western Mass Girls’ Football Club: Emily Letendre- West Springfield, Catherine Bean – Westfield, Ava Laporte– Belchertown, Lauren Bolduc- West Springfield, Madison Sanborn- Wilbraham, Kathleen Beliveau – West Springfield, Makenzie Paulo– West Springfield, Caroline Tanner – Northampton, Allyson Tatro– Belchertown, Mia Kelley– Agawam, Julia Farnham– Amherst, Haley Tracy– Chicopee, Marykate Wysocki– Agawam, Delaney Miles– Longmeadow, Rebecca Rotstein– Longmeadow, Anna Carson- Longmeadow (Photo submitted)
WESTFIELD- A group of local families recently returned from Indiana to watch their daughters play soccer and represent Western Mass in the National Premiere League. Every year, boys and girls from around the country show up to compete for the national championship held at the Grand Park Fields in Westfield, Indiana.
In an impressive set of games, Catie Bean from Westfield scored goals against teams from Arizona, Texas, and one of the two teams from California. This was her first national tournament and she scored 6 out of 10 of the team’s total goals.
Of course, a player is nothing without their team. Coach Chris Mogavaro said he was, “just extremely proud of the team and honored to work with a great group of young ladies. They improved a great deal from November to July and they really represented themselves well on and off the field. It was humbling to be competing against such great competition and I’m so happy the team was able to excel like they did over the five games.”
While the teams fought for victory, the families played an important role as well. Even though the team stayed together in the same hotel, the individual families were responsible for getting their player to Indianapolis, and they all got there by any means necessary.
Western Mass Girls’ Football Club were awarded a second place plaque for their play in the National Premiere League tournament held at Grand Park Fields in Westfield, Indiana. (photo submitted)
A pair of Longmeadow girls did an outstanding job, according to Coach Mogavaro. Rebecca Rothstein, Attack Center, created many opportunities for the team to score. “She sees the field extremely well and completed passes at a high level.” The coach said when asked about player performance.
Anna Carson, who played every defensive position, would often pair up with the best player on the other team and shut them down as they were ready to shoot for the goal. Her coach believes she is a great offensive threat to her opponents, getting the ball moving forward while she plays Outside Back.
The team had no goals scored on them until the final round, where they lost to the team from Sacramento, CA in double overtime. The final score was 1-0.
