MaxPreps is pleased to announce that the
Winchester (Mass.) Sachems have officially been named to the 14th Annual MaxPreps Soccer Tour of Champions presented by the Army National Guard, which is in its eighth year honoring girls soccer.
This is one of the most prestigious team awards in all of high school sports and it is an exclusive honor reserved for 100 of the top teams nationwide. In order to be eligible, a team must win a state championship and be highly ranked in the MaxPreps National Rankings. For soccer, only 20 of the country's best are invited and with nearly 34,000 competing varsity teams, this puts the Sachems ahead of 99.9 percent of their opponents!
In order to be eligible, the team not only had to be nationally ranked, but also had to win a state championship. Beating Hopkinton 1-0 in the
MIAA Division 2 state championship contest on Saturday, November 17 marked the completion of an incredible 22-1 season — and earned Winchester an invitation to the Tour of Champions.
Senior captain Grace Casey's goal with 20:29 left in regulation held up for the Sachems, allowing Winchester to claim its eighth girls state soccer title at Marshfield High School. The championship win was Winchester's first since 2002.
As Anna Carazza brought the ball into the Hopkinton penalty area, a handball was called on the Hillers, allowing Casey to find the left side of the net for what proved to be the winning goal. Winchester just missed out on other scoring opportunities when a redirected corner kick happen to find the waiting arms of the Hopkinton goal keeper and Ella Stone's shot sailed just over the crossbar.
Late in the contest, Casey headed a Hopkinton shot away from the goal to keep the shutout intact. Sachems goalkeeper Colleen Gogolin saved the day a little later when she placed her foot on a ball just in time to clear it from the left post. In earning the first half deadlock, Winchester outshot the Hillers on goal 4-2. Annie Costello joined forces in goal with Gogolin and made two first half saves. Gogolin stifled seven Hiller shots in the second half.
Winchester opened postseason play with a 5-0 shutout of Greater Lowell Tech. Then, following a 2-1 triumph over Belmont, the Sachems kicked in the door to the Final Four with a 2-0 blanking of Concord-Carlisle. Winchester bumped Danvers from state championship contention with a 3-1 semifinal win to set up the championship bout with Hopkinton. Rick Emanuel's club opened the season with a 5-0 shutout of Wakefield Memorial. Then, following a 7-0 blanking of Watertown, Winchester upended Burlington 6-0 to start the season 3-0. After a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame Academy September 22, the Sachems did not lose another match and outscored their competition 82-15 on the year. Winchester posted 11 shutouts on the year and held 20 foes to one goal or less in a contest, while scoring a season-high seven goals in the win over Watertown.
Having won 16 straight contests to end the year, the Sachems set themselves up for some rather high rankings come season's end. Not only is Winchester ranked No. 1 in
MaxPreps' Massachusetts Division N-2 Rankings, the Sachems are the best team in all of
Massachusetts. Winchester is ranked No. 17 in
MaxPreps' National Rankings!
These incredible season achievements have earned the Winchester Sachems an invitation to the 14th Annual Tour of Champions. Please join us in the gymnasium as we celebrate with the girls soccer team, coaching staff, students and fans on Monday, March 11 at approximately 3:15 p.m. during an athletic assembly in the auditorium.
For more information about the Tour of Champions, please visit the
MaxPreps Tour of Champions site.
