ATTLEBORO, Mass. – The game was barely underway and Methuen was on its first attack when out of nowhere the ball ended up behind Attleboro goalie Siany Ortez. Before some of the home fans had settled into the bleachers, the Bombardiers were trailing Thursday afternoon’s Div.1 play-in game at Tozier-Cassidy Field.
Despite falling behind inside of the first minute of the game, Attleboro never let its energy level drop and quickly took control. The Bombardiers scored twice in less than a minute to take the lead after one quarter and added an important insurance goal in the fourth to pull out a come-from-behind 3-1 win and advance to face top seed Walpole.
“We sometimes do start a little slow,” admitted Attleboro coach Jessica Pink. “It takes them a minute to get their feet on the ground and running and going. I thought about calling a timeout, but I didn’t want to waste it so early on. They know that they needed to regroup and they did just that.”
She added, “It’s always hard when you’re sitting, trailing, especially because it’s not like a regular season game where you’re trailing and if you lose it’s a bummer but you have the next one. Coming back from a goal so early is tough, so the fact that they were able to get two at the end of the quarter was such a game-changer.”
The Rangers took the opening face-off and immediately went on the attack down the left wing. Charlotte Putnam battled her way to the end line, created a little bit of space, and rifled a ball across the face of goal. Kylee Henriquez was able to find a pocket of room where she could settle the pass, turn, and fire shot under Ortez.
Attleboro looked stunned, but was able to recover quickly. By the time play resumed, the Bombardiers were on the front foot and hardly let up for the remaining 59 minutes.
Only seconds after getting the ball, Marley Young was on the run down the right wing and forced a save out of Methuen goalie Alexandra Tardugno. Young was a constant menace in the right channel and she split a pair of defenders to get room for another cross, which was tipped wide of the far post by Mackenzie Cooper.
With six minutes left in the half, Attleboro earned its first corner of the game. The Bombardiers turned that opportunity into a tying goal. Young played the corner out to Alyvia Bessette, who played it down the wing to Jordan Mooney. The senior midfielder cut the ball back into Siobhan Landers, who was cutting down the middle, and she smacked it first-time to find the back of the net.
Just 38 seconds later, Attleboro was in front. Landers created the scoring chance with a good run through the midfield. She played a pass out to Bessette on the right wing and she was able to cut the ball back to Young in the middle for a transition goal that turned out to be the winner.
“That goal and our second one is our tournament team,” said Pink. “I know that’s how we’re capable of playing. I knew once they got there, it would be good and the momentum really did shift. We were really connecting and the girls made it happen.”
Attleboro was flying and nearly scored seconds before the end of the quarter. Landers played the ball to the top of the crease, but Mooney smacked it through a crowd with no touch. Just a minute into the second, Young again managed to slip through a crowd but her shot went off the side of the net.
Midway through the quarter, Landers had a bast from straight away but Tardugno kicked it aside. Bessette and Young pressed from the top, forcing a turnover but again the Methuen goalie was equal to it.
The Attleboro defense of Kelsey Hodson, Meghan Ferreira, Victoria Westwater, and Paige Parenteau was largely untroubled, cutting out Methuen attacks well before they got close to Ortez, but in the closing two minutes of the half the Rangers finally got a look at goal. Vanessa Fritschy had a go from high on the right side that went wide and Ortez was quick to get down and block a chance at the post off a corner. It was one of only two saves the Attleboro goalie was called on to make.
On the other end of the field, Tardugno was doing everything in her power to keep the Rangers in the game. She made six of her 15 saves in the third quarter alone. Landers set up Young for a shot from a good angle on the right that was kicked away, then Mooney found Young in space in front but Tardugno stopped that and the rebound effort from Stella Krawiec.
With no time on the clock, Landers nearly converted another corner only to have the goalie rob her from close range again.
“Methuen’s goalie is phenomenal,” said Pink. “We probably had 20 shots in the third and fourth quarters and she only let one in. It was nice to see that we were able to capitalize and get up there over and over again.”
Attleboro continued to press for the goal that would seal the win. The Bombardiers had six corners in the fourth (and held a 12-4 advantage for the game). Mooney and Bessette played a nice one-two off one of the corners, which opened up a shot for Young only for Tardugno to make the save.
Just when it looked like the Methuen goalie might just allow her team to find its way back into the match, Attleboro finally found a third. Landers played it to Mooney, who fired it into the mix in front and Young was in the right place to get the necessary tip and find the back of the net.
So, now Attleboro (8-11) moves into the Round of 32 and its reward is a trip to top seed Walpole, which reached the state final a year ago. While it is obviously a daunting task, Attleboro is excited about the challenge.
“Our league has been so tough and we’ve opportunities to really challenge ourselves,” Pink explained. “They want to play the best because at the end of the day it’s going to make them better and I think that’s their mindset going into it. We’re going to put it all on the line.”
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