Through her four years on varsity, Lynnfield senior captain Lily Alves dreamed of what senior night would be like.<\/p>\n
But the third-year starter\u2019s idea of it shifted a bit just six games into the year, when a concussion \u2014 not her first or second \u2014 forced the difficult decision that it would be best to lead from the sideline for the rest of the year.<\/p>\n
Little did the standout midfielder know, though, senior night would end up much more special than she ever pictured.<\/p>\n
Not only did clearing concussion protocol get her on the field in one final game for senior night on Wednesday (she heads back to the sidelines for the state tournament), but her contributions in a meaningful role helped guide a 2-0 win. That win capped an unbeaten record in Cape Ann League play, and sealed the Pioneers\u2019 (14-1-3, 13-0-2) first CAL Kinney title since 2014.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to kind of live out that experience one last time with my team,\u201d Alves said. \u201cIt was very bittersweet. \u2026 I wanted to make the most of it as I could, knowing it would be the last time on the field. It meant a lot, especially that (Lynnfield head coach Kerri Doherty) let me stay in the whole game. And being able to seal the deal on CAL champs was absolutely huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a huge smile on my face talking about her because of what she did last night,\u201d said Doherty. \u201cShe said, \u2018Coach, I want to play senior night, just get me in there.\u2019 It ended up going from five minutes to almost a full game for her. \u2026 Her text to me at the end of the night was, \u2018Thank you, I\u2019ll never forget this for the rest of my life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Alves and Doherty vividly remember the moment that Lynnfield came together in the preseason to talk over their goals for the year.<\/p>\n
An unbeaten season is always a gimme. League titles sort of are too, but taking the CAL Kinney this year had an extra appeal.<\/p>\n
Had the Pioneers beat Pentucket in their regular season finale last year, there was a chance they would split the league title three ways \u2013 which is incredibly rare in the CAL. Pentucket tied Lynnfield, though, leaving Newburyport and North Reading as co-champions.<\/p>\n
This time, facing Pentucket again Friday \u2013 on senior night \u2013 the Pioneers needed the win to secure sole rights to the title. Freshman standout Nola Maney and senior Izzy Fiorentino each scored, while the defense locked down its 12th shutout of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe every single person on the team said they wanted to get CAL champs \u2013 it\u2019s been a dream since my freshman year,\u201d Alves said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve gotten very close. \u2026 Finally being able to get it was just like a dream come true.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the CAL seems like it may be a bit more \u201cdown\u201d than usual, it still hosts some of the tightest matchups the state has to offer.<\/p>\n
When Lynnfield opened the year with a 2-1 win over Div. 2 contender Newburyport (14-3-1), Alves was on the field. When it tied the Clippers in the rematch on Sept. 29 \u2014 nine days after her concussion \u2014 she was on the sideline with a similarly effective role.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been a steady presence for the Pioneers, who also delivered impressive performances against Div. 4 contender Manchester Essex (2-2 tie), unbeaten Masconomet (0-0 tie), and Div. 1 threat Beverly (3-0 win) this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s kind of become like a second coach,\u201d Doherty said. \u201cShe has been a huge leader for us. She\u2019s a kid that tells it like it is. \u2026 Just honest, has the integrity to lead a team. I can\u2019t tell you enough great things about her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deciding to show up every day after the concussion, aside from missing two practices, was an easy choice for Alves.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if I wasn\u2019t a captain, the team is a huge part of my life,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel like I still had a place on the team, and I wasn\u2019t willing to give that up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lynnfield\u2019s focus turns to one of its other preseason goals now \u2013 make the Div. 3 Final Four.<\/p>\n
The challenge of realigning up to Div. 3 from Div. 4 isn\u2019t one they take lightly, but there\u2019s a strong sense of confidence to make a deep run. Even if the MIAA power rankings haven\u2019t reflected exactly as such (No. 10 in the last update on Friday), they\u2019re a dangerous team to look out for.<\/p>\n
Junior Lauren Mattia (Holy Cross-commit) and senior Izzy Fiorentino are dynamic playmakers out of the midfield, helping lead a deep lineup with senior Cameron Munion, junior Chloe Bergeron, sophomore Sophia Morgese and Maney.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel like (the power ranking) does not represent the team that we are,\u201d Alves said. \u201cWe feel like we can make it to the Final Four, and we\u2019ve put in a lot of effort this season. \u2026 With the amount of effort and commitment that is on the team, we definitely have a good shot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quick Flicks<\/p>\n
The regular season cutoff date was Sunday. The MIAA plans to release state tournament pairings on Tuesday at 11 a.m.<\/p>\n
With a 2-1 win over Belmont on Friday, Winchester closed the year as Middlesex League Liberty champs \u2013 having also beat Reading twice and Watertown.<\/p>\n
East Bridgewater\u2019s dream regular season ended at 12-2-2 \u2013 earning its most wins since 2006. It will be a tough out in the Div. 4 state tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Through her four years on varsity, Lynnfield senior captain Lily Alves dreamed of what senior night would be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":268636,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[29453,1245,5,40710,38417,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-268635","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-high-school-field-hockey","9":"tag-high-school-sports","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-lynnfield","12":"tag-miaa-sports","13":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115443078571296709","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=268635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/268635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/268636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=268635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=268635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=268635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}