Last week, the Warriors locked in the DCL-Small Championship title with a win against Tyngsborough on Thursday, and then finished their Dual County League run undefeated with a tie against Concord-Carlisle .

“This was really the last week of practices in terms of the regular season. Next week, practice will be geared for tournament preparation,” said Wayland Coach Guy Enoch. Wayland had just two practices last week, and three games. “It was the right time to have back to back games [because] we are on the right track as far as how we are playing.”

The Tyngsborough Tigers played the Warriors in Wayland on Tuesday for senior night. Wayland set the tone in the fourth minute, when senior captain Mel Sperling scored. She was assisted by junior Claire Nishioka. Nishioka then scored a goal of her own just fourteen minutes later, after sophomore Nicole Noa passed the ball from the outside into the middle, where Nishioka settled the ball and shot far post, scoring her eleventh goal of the season.

In the second half, the Tigers had a short possession that allowed them an upper 90 shot on Wayland keeper and senior captain Liz Doyon. The ball hit the far post and went in. Wayland came back with a goal in the 67 minute. Sophomore Maeve Moynihan received the ball from senior captain Lindsay Shelton, and Moynihan shot from the edge of the 18. The final result was a 3-1 win.

On Thursday, the Tigers and Warriors played again, and the Warrior took the game with a 1-0 win. In the 20th minute, outside mid-fielder Sperling crossed the ball into the 18 where Moynihan made contact to volley the ball over the Tyngsborough keeper. It was Moynihan’s eighth goal of the season.

“Tyngsborough has really improved since last year, and so I knew they were going to be tough games. A little let down in the first Tyngsborough game, but we managed to get back on our feet,” said Enoch. “In addition, I think that we were suffering from our decision-making when it came to our finishing touches. In the last two games this week we could have done a better job finishing the ball [into net].”

On Friday, Wayland played at Concord-Carlisle’s senior night, resulting in a 0-0 tie.

“I knew that Concord-Carlisle was dying to get back at us. But I felt that the way we played against Concord-Carlisle after playing Tyngsborough, was a good showing,” explained Enoch.

Wayland had many opportunities on goal but had difficulty finishing. The ball got shot at the Concord-Carlisle keeper constantly.  Wayland goalie Doyon had just a few saves, including a crucial one on one, to record her seventh shutout of the season. Wayland sweeper, junior McKenzie Jones, controlled the back unit and shut down the Concord-Carlisle offense.

“They are statistically the second best team in the league,” said Enoch. “We are still undefeated in the DCL small, even though we were disappointed in the score I was proud of how we played.”

“This week we accomplished another goal of ours which was to finish in first place in the DCL small. We were extremely excited. Everyone has continued to work extremely hard … and our team chemistry is amazing,” raved senior captain Sperling.

The Warriors will play their first tournament game at the end of this week after their final game in the regular season against non-league Brookline. Said Coach Enoch, “Tournament can be done in a flash. You have to really grasp every opportunity that we have to prepare. Every practice before a game could be our last practice. There are no regrets.”