Winchester Soccer Gets Back on Winning Track

It was something that hasn't happened to Winchester in two years. The Sachems were caught offguard.

The loss to Stoneham on Saturday was Winchester's first league loss in two seasons. Many of the players weren't even on the team the last time Winchester lost a game.

"We hadn't lost in two years, we didn't know what it was like," said Emily Aliberti. "But it was a real motivator."

The loss was short-lived as the Sachems rebounded on Tuesday, defeating visiting Lexington 2-0.

"This game proved, that if we do work hard the rest of the season then we can do well," Aliberti said.

"We lost that game on Saturday by being outfought," Coach Chris Scanlon said. "We didn't want to come out today and be out-fought."

Aliberti helped the Sachems (2-1) jump out to an early lead as she scored off a corner kick from Katherine Zavez midway through the first half.

"It was real important to get that first goal," Aliberti said. "We working so hard to get it, it was nice to find put the ball in the back of the net."

"We haven't been scoring goals," Scanlon said. "That first one definitely helped the team, but it would have been great to get a couple more. We didn't take advantage of that first goal. It wasn't a springboard for us like it should have been."

The Sachem defense was able to stifle Lexington to only a few chances the rest of the game, and then 15 minutes into the second half, Sarah Ohnigion cushioned Winchester's lead. She received the ball off a deflected pass and raced untouched on goal. As the Lexington goalie came out to cut off her angle, Ohnigion slid the ball past her and into goal.

But this has been a unique year for Winchester. While the team has some youth to it, the Sachems have not been coming together the way Scanlon had believed they would.

"A lot of these kids have been playing since they were five," Scanlon said. "They all have a lot of experience, but gelling is more the issue. We're just not gelling as well as I thought we would be."

But the Sachems know this is a long season, and there's still plenty of time to improve.

"We're still growing as a team," Aliberti said. "We're going in the right direction, but it's taking a little time."