Motivation is King
King Philip girls soccer team rolling along
Coming off a Division 1 state semifinal appearance, and with a strong nucleus returning, King Philip couldn’t help but feel it would get right back to that point in 2018.
But last season served as a harsh reality for KP, with the results, and a first-round postseason exit, not nearly matching expectations.
KP learned to not look too far into the future, and the Warriors use that lesson daily this season as they continue to put together a dominant campaign, marching out to a perfect 17-0 mark.
“Coming in this year, we just had a different mindset because we knew it’s not as easy as it looks,” said Providence-bound striker Avery Snead. “We really just focused on making every day count and working hard to reach our goal.”
After last year’s shortcomings, KP concentrated on fortifying its defense. Olivia Berry, Makayla Griffin, Grace Lawlor and Paige Varvarigos have formed a stout back line in front of keeper Taylor Butler to post 14 shutouts.
Add in a prolific offense led by premiere forwards in Snead and University of Hartford commit Chloe Layne, along with midfielder Ally Stanton and KP, which is ranked third in USA Today’s national poll, boasts an eye-popping 76-3 goal differential.
“I sit there after each game and go, ‘Wow. I cannot believe this. Am I dreaming?’” said KP coach Gary Pichel on the margin of victory. “I am that amazed at it because I’ve never experienced that in my 20-plus years of coaching.”
Snead, who has 18 goals and seven assists, and Layne are the catalysts for KP, and both recorded their 100th career point in the first week of the season. Layne, who leads the Hockomock League with 20 goals and 23 assists, made more history on Sept. 19 by becoming the school’s all-time leader in career points.
“It’s definitely an honor,” Layne said. “I’ve just been trying so hard and working with my teammates, always trying to get them involved. It just means so much to know that I’m No. 1.”
Pichel also reached a milestone by earning his 200th career victory in a 5-0 win over Stoughton on Sept. 27, and more recently, the Warriors captured the Hockomock Kelley-Rex title for the second time in three years.
KP has stressed a one game at a time approach for this season, but they know what lies ahead. The Warriors have experienced postseason triumph before and this time, KP plans to replicate it just a year later than expected.
“We’re definitely going into it with unfinished business,” Snead said.
Question answered
For the first time in a while, Brookline needed to address its goalie situation due to the departure of All
American keeper Katherine McElroy, now at Michigan.
The apprehension felt at the beginning of the season has dissipated due to sophomore Juliana Anastopoulos filling the void admirably for the Warriors, who have gone 11-1-4 and allowed only nine goals.
“(Last year) she did well in training, but she was this quiet freshman at the time. I didn’t even know what her voice sounded like,” said Brookline coach Rob Sprague. “Tryouts started in August and she was loud and commanding and it was really great to see. It was a relief because we checked it off in terms of areas of concern.”
Anastopoulos’s strong play has earned the trust of Brookline’s defense that continues to be the strength of the defending Div. 1 North champions, who have aspirations of playing for a state title after falling a game shy last year.
In a rematch of last year’s state semifinal against Natick on Thursday, Maya Leschly’s 13th goal of the season and a shutout from Anastopoulos lifted Brookline to a 1-0 win.
“Success in the Bay State League is nice, but we all really want to compete for a state championship,” Sprague said.
Tough navigation
With a simple approach, Weymouth can get over the setbacks bound to occur in a treacherous Bay State Conference, like dropping just one contest since suffering a 5-0 defeat to Framingham on Sept. 26.
“We try and stay focused on day-to-day and even halfby-half in terms of our games because it is so difficult,” said Weymouth coach Bill McEachern.
Having experienced leadership in tri-captains Liam Hopkins, Drew Rennie and Mehya Tambi helped Weymouth (11-3-2) deal with its challenging slate and clinch a postseason berth for the 30th consecutive season.
“When you include the competition that we face day in and day out being in the Bay State Conference, it is quite an accomplishment and something we’re really proud of,” McEachern said.