BY AMY HEMPEL
SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS
On Saturday, June 18, the Plympton U12 (under age 12) girls competed in the Coastal Youth Soccer Leagues Coastal Cup Playoffs. The playoffs are made up of the top nine teams across the Coastal Cup level groups, 30 teams total, on the South Shore. The Plympton team consisted of a roster of fifteen girls in grades four, five, and six, coached by John Sullivan, Head Coach; Amy Hempel, Asst. Coach; and Keith Sexton, Asst. Coach.
Plympton placed second in the CC1 division and was the 4th seed in the playoffs.
On Saturday, Plympton played their first game against a very strong Marshfield team that went undefeated all season. Haley Peters scored two goals for Plympton with assists from Alyssa Peters and Norah Sanda.
Marshfield matched Plympton’s goals tying it up at the end of the game with just three minutes remaining, sending the game to overtime. At the end of overtime, the game remained tied and went to penalty shots. Haley Peters and Zoe Sullivan both scored on penalty kicks for Plympton and our goalie, Avery Flynn, held Marshfield to just one goal in overtime giving us the win.
On Sunday, Plympton was back again with a game against a strong Hingham team. Haley Peters scored all three goals with help from Plympton’s midfielders Ava O’Hearn, Izabella Canale, and Delyla Lomba. Plympton won 3-0 and punched their ticket to the finals!
In the finals, Plympton faced an undefeated Duxbury team who only let in 5 goals all season. This Duxbury team had defeated Plympton earlier this year, so Plympton knew it would be a difficult game. As the game began, the Plympton U12 girls set out strong and attacked the Duxbury goalie with everything they had. Avery Flynn scored for Plympton on a corner kick early in the first half and Zoe Sullivan had a breakaway goal at the end of the first half to secure the victory for Plympton.
Plympton’s incredible defense consisting of Adelyn Sexton, Lena Spicuzza, Taylor Hempel, Nora Hickey, and Angel Sarras let nothing by them! This group of players held our opponents to just two goals across all three games!
The teamwork, determination, and heart these girls played with were unmatchable! Congratulations to the Plympton U12 Girls our 2022 CYSL Coastal Cup Champions!