When Lincoln-Sudbury traveled to Wayland, the Warriors came into the game as underdogs, yet they put up a very strong effort that didn’t reflect the 3-0 loss.

The whole team played very aggressively, led by the usual suspects of senior captain Sophie Ellenbogen, junior captain Samantha Tyska, senior Sammy Johnson and senior Eliya Howard-Delman. The center back pairing of previously mentioned Tyska and Howard-Delman played very well throughout the game, and looked to be the difference in many of Lincoln-Sudbury’s runs. There were a couple close calls that resulted from some momentary lapses of judgement, but those mistakes didn’t result in any of the three goals.

Despite the aggression and relatively strong defense, the first goal came only three minutes into the game with a shot that just slipped by the goalkeeper. A second score came only nine minutes after, with another ball that was played well by the defense yet got through once again.

Wayland’s response on offense centered around senior captain Lauren Medeiros, senior Emily Staiti and freshman Jackie Rainville. There were some great early runs from the trio, including a great give and go between Staiti and Rainville that almost put one in the back of the net for Wayland 15 minutes in. However, as Wayland focused more on stopping any more goals from being conceded, the offense began to slow down as the half progressed.

Wayland’s offense would be rejuvenated at the start of the second half, as Rainville placed a great through ball to Staiti just one minute in that should’ve been a goal. Rainville would have another great chance shortly after, but the ball simply refused to go in. Lincoln-Sudbury suddenly flipped this momentum with another goal that squeaked through the goalkeeper’s hands, making the score 3-0.

In the final ten minutes of the game, Wayland relentlessly went at the opponents net. A great play between Medeiros and Staiti almost developed into their first goal, and the aftermath saw the ball find Rainville for another painfully close opportunity that also missed. Ellenbogen had an amazing shot from 20 yards out that hit the crossbar 36 minutes in, while Medeiros added in a great chance of her own in the final couple minutes that was stopped by a great save by Lincoln-Sudbury’s goalkeeper.

The 3-0 result could be chalked down to some ill-timed mistakes on defense and a lack of luck on offense. The aggressiveness and determination was there, but ultimately it was not Wayland’s day. Wayland would fall to Concord-Carlisle by the same score as well, but the team turned it around in a 2-0 win against Waltham the following Tuesday.