The last time the Wayland girls varsity soccer team faced Lincoln-Sudbury, which was midway through the season, mistakes cost them in a 3-0 defeat. Now, on the bigger stage of the DCL tournament, Wayland held their own despite the result ending in a disappointing loss.

Lincoln-Sudbury had momentum from the start, showcasing speed up the wings and crosses that put Wayland on the defensive side early. Lincoln-Sudbury forced freshman Annie McQuilkin into some saves as early as four minutes in. Her performance would be a positive trend that lasted throughout the game.

Junior captain Samantha Tyska played extremely well on defense with great tackling, strong use of her head and very vocal communication. Senior captain Sophie Ellenbogen was a force at left-back, with very intelligent defense complimenting quick and skillful moves when the ball was at her feet. Sophomore Missy Prince added to this strong defensive effort, including a goal-saving clearance from the goal-line just eight minutes in.

The strong play on Wayland’s side of the field began to translate to chances on offense about a third of the way through the first half. Ellenbogen crossed a ball in to senior Emily Staiti around ten minutes in, but officials ruled her offside for what would be the first of multiple times throughout the game. While Wayland was caught multiple times for this infraction, the Wayland sideline was frustrated with potentially missed calls when Lincoln-Sudbury was offside.

Senior Sammy Johnson, who was returning from a knee injury, became a strong force in the middle as the game went on. Freshman Jackie Rainville began to find her stride midway through the half, with a powerful cross to Staiti and a great corner to Ellenbogen, who had an amazing shot from far out that missed the back of the net.

Later in the second half, Lincoln-Sudbury tried to take the game back into their own hands, hitting the Wayland net with a barrage of shots. Luckily for Wayland, all of them either went wide or were saved by McQuilkin. The first half ended 0-0.

Wayland came out with intensity at the start of the second half. An offensive run that had promise was cut short by officials with a push from Staiti and an ensuing flop by a Lincoln-Sudbury defender. Lincoln-Sudbury began to put the pressure back on Wayland 10 minutes into the second half. Two consecutive crosses by Lincoln-Sudbury resulted in two headers that both went wide, and McQuilkin stopped a long shot 13 minutes in.

With all those chances, something was eventually going to give. Just 14 minutes into the second half, Lincoln-Sudbury broke the tie off of a corner kick and an own goal. Following the goal, Wayland immediately shifted focus towards equalizing the game.

Staiti had a great header, which was saved, while Rainville peppered the box with dangerous crosses. Nearly 13 minutes after Lincoln-Sudbury took the lead, Wayland found the opportunity to retaliate. Ellenbogen crossed the ball to the other side of the field, and Medeiros controlled it and carried it towards the right corner. When Medeiros found space, she unleashed a cross that found the far post and bounced in.

Wayland kept the foot on the pedal, with Staiti, Rainville and junior Delia Caulfield keeping the intensity on the attack high. However, Lincoln-Sudbury had the last meaningful chance off of a free-kick, which was saved, and thus the game went to penalties.

The first kick was taken by Tyska, which was blocked by the keeper diving to her right. Lincoln-Sudbury knocked down the first shot, taking a 1-0 lead. Medeiros was next up and directly hit the crossbar. However, Lincoln-Sudbury also missed and kept the score at 1-0. Ellenbogen was up third, and her shot hit the left post. After another Lincoln-Sudbury miss, Rainville was up. Her try went straight down the middle, stopped by the keeper. Lincoln-Sudbury needed just one more goal to win and did just that, ending the penalty shootout with a score of 3-0.

Despite the game being chalked up as a loss, Wayland played the best they had all year. The team’s next and final game against Waltham also led to penalty kicks, though this time they were able to come out of it with a win.