By Tim Rosenthal, HockomockSports.com Staff Writer
NORTH EASTON, Mass. – For the Oliver Ames girls’ soccer seniors, it was a night to acknowledge the accomplishments that they made for the program.
For Nikki Taylor, it was a night to add to her impressive career.
The senior forward sparked the Lady Tigers with her first of three goals just 20 seconds in en route to an 8-0 victory over Stoughton Friday night at Muscato Stadium.
The hat trick was an added bonus for Taylor, who scored her other two goals in the 39th and 45th minutes, on a night dedicated to her and the other seven members of the class of 2013.
“It was definitely a top off to my day and my senior night,” Taylor said about her hat trick.
While she was certainly appreciative of her hat trick, Taylor was equally excited to talk about sharing the moment with her fellow classmates.
“It’s been awesome,” she said. “We’ve been playing since we were so little and its amazing to think that we’ve come this far as a team.”
Taylor certainly wasn’t the only senior to shine Friday.
Shortly after Taylor’s first goal, classmate Corrine Herihly extended the OA lead to 2-0 in the 6th minute. Senior co-captain Kendall Andrew added a couple of assists, including one to midfielder Kate Holleran midway through the first half, fellow captain Kelsey Bliss nearly added a goal of her own to top off her strong game defensively along with fellow defenders Clarissa Romero and Lexi Soucie, while Pam Grant and Allie Brennan had a strong game on both ends of the field.
Not bad for a class that has a Davenport Division title and a Division 1 south sectional championship under its belt.
“They’ve worked so hard to get where they are,” head coach Britt Sellmayer said about the seniors. “Kendall and Nikki have always been the main players on our program and the other kids like Pam, Kelsey and Lexi – the girls who have waited their turn – have been a big part of their senior year. They’ve all worked at it, and now they are enjoying it, which is nice to see.”
Unlike OA, Stoughton coach Gary Muello has gone through some growing pains with his youthful roster that only has six seniors as they look for improvement down the final stretch of the year.
“It’s a very young team,” he said. “We’re just hoping we can make any type of progress.”
One of Mueller’s underclassmen that is continuing to progress is Marissa Williams.
Despite the relentless OA attack Friday, the freshman goalkeeper was aggressive and made 12 saves on the night.
“She can be a very good keeper,” Muello said about Williams. “She had a very good game tonight and hopefully she can have a very good future.”
With the game out of reach early in the second half, Sellmayer decided to empty his bench. From the second half substitutions JV/Varsity swing players Erin Fitzgerald and Olivia Mileika added goals in the 74th and 79th minutes, respectively, to secure the shutout.
OA, now 12-3-1, faces a tough Sharon squad on the road on Tuesday before hosting Milford in its Davenport Division finale Thursday.
Stoughton, still looking for its first win of the season (now 0-14) travels to Braintree on Saturday before returning to small Hock action Tuesday against Milford.
NORTH EASTON, Mass. – For the Oliver Ames girls’ soccer seniors, it was a night to acknowledge the accomplishments that they made for the program.
For Nikki Taylor, it was a night to add to her impressive career.
The senior forward sparked the Lady Tigers with her first of three goals just 20 seconds in en route to an 8-0 victory over Stoughton Friday night at Muscato Stadium.
The hat trick was an added bonus for Taylor, who scored her other two goals in the 39th and 45th minutes, on a night dedicated to her and the other seven members of the class of 2013.
“It was definitely a top off to my day and my senior night,” Taylor said about her hat trick.
While she was certainly appreciative of her hat trick, Taylor was equally excited to talk about sharing the moment with her fellow classmates.
“It’s been awesome,” she said. “We’ve been playing since we were so little and its amazing to think that we’ve come this far as a team.”
Taylor certainly wasn’t the only senior to shine Friday.
Shortly after Taylor’s first goal, classmate Corrine Herihly extended the OA lead to 2-0 in the 6th minute. Senior co-captain Kendall Andrew added a couple of assists, including one to midfielder Kate Holleran midway through the first half, fellow captain Kelsey Bliss nearly added a goal of her own to top off her strong game defensively along with fellow defenders Clarissa Romero and Lexi Soucie, while Pam Grant and Allie Brennan had a strong game on both ends of the field.
Not bad for a class that has a Davenport Division title and a Division 1 south sectional championship under its belt.
“They’ve worked so hard to get where they are,” head coach Britt Sellmayer said about the seniors. “Kendall and Nikki have always been the main players on our program and the other kids like Pam, Kelsey and Lexi – the girls who have waited their turn – have been a big part of their senior year. They’ve all worked at it, and now they are enjoying it, which is nice to see.”
Unlike OA, Stoughton coach Gary Muello has gone through some growing pains with his youthful roster that only has six seniors as they look for improvement down the final stretch of the year.
“It’s a very young team,” he said. “We’re just hoping we can make any type of progress.”
One of Mueller’s underclassmen that is continuing to progress is Marissa Williams.
Despite the relentless OA attack Friday, the freshman goalkeeper was aggressive and made 12 saves on the night.
“She can be a very good keeper,” Muello said about Williams. “She had a very good game tonight and hopefully she can have a very good future.”
With the game out of reach early in the second half, Sellmayer decided to empty his bench. From the second half substitutions JV/Varsity swing players Erin Fitzgerald and Olivia Mileika added goals in the 74th and 79th minutes, respectively, to secure the shutout.
OA, now 12-3-1, faces a tough Sharon squad on the road on Tuesday before hosting Milford in its Davenport Division finale Thursday.
Stoughton, still looking for its first win of the season (now 0-14) travels to Braintree on Saturday before returning to small Hock action Tuesday against Milford.
