Lions’ midfield shines in 2-1 win over Waltham

The Newton South girls varsity soccer team rode two first-half goals and dominant midfield play to a decisive 2-1 home win over Waltham on Thursday, their sixth victory in their last seven games.

South’s Genevieve Erikson-Garceau opened the scoring on the Lions’ first attack, only moments after the opening whistle. The early goal suggested that more would be coming soon, especially as South continued to dominate possession, but the Lions struggled to break through a stout Waltham defense. Rather it was the Hawks who scored next, tying the game after a rare foray into the Lions’ end of the field.

The goal momentarily silenced the home fans but did little to tip the momentum of the game. South continued to control the midfield, with Olivia Fetterman and Beatriz Almeida looking to push their team forward. South’s efforts were rewarded on the stroke of halftime when Fia Parnes looped in a shot from 15 yards out, giving the home side the lead for good.

South head coach Laurence Reid was happy to get the victory against a league opponent, especially following a loss to Concord-Carlisle earlier in the week. He singled out the contributions of wingers Allie Feldman and Lenox Schneiderman as being instrumental in attacking a Waltham side that refused to give South much space to operate.

“Waltham was doing a nice job of really congesting the middle of the field so we were trying to stretch them wide, and Allie did a great job of doing that, supported by Lenox on the left,” he said.

South is currently 7-4-1 and has six regular season games remaining. Reid was coy when asked about his team’s ultimate goals for the season but did express confidence about where the squad was headed, especially given their recent run of form.

“We intend to win several more of the games ahead of us and give ourselves a good shot for playoffs,” he said.

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