Wayland girls had three games this week and won all three to bring their record to 9-2-1, officially putting them in the state tournament for the first time in four years.

“Mission accomplished!” said Wayland coach Guy Enoch. “We had a tough week, three tough games, and we came out on top in all three. We accomplished the goal we set up in the beginning of this season, to make tournament.”

“This week was such a great week for us because we accomplished two major goals of our season: beating LS, and making it into the state tournament,” said captain Mel Sperling. “Every single player has been working so hard and staying focused, and it feels great to finally make it to this point for the first time!”

On Monday, the Warriors played Lynnfield, a non-league rival. The game started off close and both teams fought hard for the ball, going into the second half with no score.

In the 9th minute of the second half Wayland created an opportunity in the 18-yard-box. Senior captain Lindsay Shelton passed a through ball into the middle where sophomore Maeve Moynihan finished the ball past Lynnfield keeper.

Just two minutes later, Lynnfield was awarded a direct kick at the top of the 18-yard-box. The ball snuck into far post and scored, tying the game at 1-1. But in the 78th minute junior Claire Nishioka took a corner kick and bent the ball in to Moynihan, who headed the ball for the game-winning goal, her second of the day.

On Wednesday the Wayland Warriors played the Lincoln-Sudbury Warriors at home. The LS Warriors are at the top of the DCL Large league. The game started off with LS winning the ball, but in the 30th minute senior captain Sperling crossed the ball to net and Nishioka found the ball to finish it.

Six minutes later Nishioka launched a ball forward to Sperling who caught it for another cross into net scoring for Wayland. The score was 2-0 going into the second half.

In the 70th minute, senior forward Lauren Jenny carried the ball forward to the corner where she passed back to junior Julia Shively, who shot high to score her first goal of the season. The LS Warriors didn’t give up and made the most of an opportunity in the last minute of the game. The ball got passed to the top of the six-yard-box to an open LS player who scored on a rebound, making the final score 3-1, senior captain Liz Doyon had 8 saves for Wayland.

On Friday, the Warriors had their chance to clinch tournament, and they did just that when the Bedford Buccaneers played on Wayland turf for their second match this season.

The game started slowly, and Bedford was allowed an opportunity in the penalty area where they scored first in the 20th minute. But two minutes before the half, Sperling crossed the ball and Moynihan headed it into the six-yard-box where freshman Sarah Nuss finished the ball for her first goal of the season.

“We are moving in the right direction as far as how we play, and we proved that [this week],” said Enoch. “We still are not consistent throughout the game. We need more consistent games.”

With twenty minutes left in the second half, Wayland scored on a corner kick to finish the game. Junior Nishioka bent the ball into Moynihan to head it in for a copycat goal from the Lynnfield game. Sophomore MacKenzie Salitsky had seven saves for her first varsity start.

“The key is to make sure we aren’t playing without a cause,” explained Enoch, “so we are going to challenge ourselves and set a new mission. Trying to stay on top of the DCL Small, as competitors we want to be the best. It’s going to take a lot of effort but I think that we are all ready for it and excited for the challenge.”

This Friday the Warriors will play DCL small opponent Arlington on home turf.