The two teams faced off twice in the regular season. This was the opportunity to see which was truly the better team. The Silver Lake High girls’ soccer team faced a Patriot League rival, the Plymouth North Eagles, in the state semifinal game on Tuesday, November 16. It was a neutral site game that took place at Whitman-Hanson. The Lakers played a strong and complete game, winning 2-1 to advance to the Division 2 state title match.
There was no score for most of the first half, but the Lakers took the lead right before it ended. Shea Kelleher put one in the back of the net at the 38-minute mark. A few minutes before that, she had another strong shot. However, the ball went off the crossbar that time.
Plymouth North would tie the match in the second half. At the 57 minute mark, Plymouth North capitalized on a free kick from midfield, setting up a goal for the team.
McKenna Sylvester put up the go-ahead goal with about 10 minutes left in the match. She put the Lakers up 2-1. In the final stretch of the game, goalie Emma Hudson made a couple of saves as she picked up the win with a strong performance in net.
When the two teams faced off earlier in the season, Plymouth North won the first time — and the Lakers won the second one. First, Plymouth North beat them 1-0 on October 6. Then, the Lakers won a 2-1 match on October 25 to even the series on the season.
With the win, the Lakers advanced to the state championship game where they faced Whitman-Hanson.
Silver Lake girls’ soccer falls in state title game
It was familiar territory for the Silver Lake High girls’ soccer team.
At the biggest stage of the season, the Lakers faced a familiar challenge: the Whitman-Hanson Panthers. Both sides competed hard, but the Lakers came up short. Whitman-Hanson beat the Lakers 3-1 in the Division 2 state title game at Hingham High School on Saturday, November 20.
Much of the first half was a scoreless contest, but the Lakers struck first in this one. Shea Kelleher got the team on the board with six minutes remaining, giving the Lakers the 1-0 lead. It’s a lead the Lakers would protect going into the half. Lakers goalie Emma Hudson made a save on a Whitman-Hanson shot later in the half to preserve the lead.
While the Lakers kept the lead for most of the second half, Whitman-Hanson surged late. Whitman-Hanson scored three unanswered goals in the final 12 minutes of the match to win it. The first one came following a scrum out in front of the net with 11:28 remaining to tie things at one apiece.
Whitman-Hanson then took the lead three minute later on a penalty kick. The goal was scored on the left side of the net. And Whitman-Hanson added an insurance goal in stoppage time, giving the team a 3-1 lead.
It was the third time this season that the two sides met up. The Lakers won the two regular season matchups: 1-0 on September 24 and 2-0 on October 19.
The Lakers will lose a deep senior class now that their season is over; there were 12 seniors on the varsity roster this fall.