Soccer girls qualify for state tournament

With the Revere High football, boys cross country, and boys soccer teams drawing most of the attention on the local sports scene, the Lady Patriot soccer team quietly has been going about its business in its quest for a state tournament berth.

However, Coach Natalie Lyons’s Lady Patriots are ready to make some noise and gain some recognition after achieving two scintillating victories last week that punched their tickets for their own Journey to the Tourney.

The RHS girls had entered their final week of the season needing four points in their final four games to reach the magic .500 mark that would qualify them for the tourney. But they knew that none of their four remaining games, against Winthrop, Saugus, Peabody, and Salem, would be easy. Perhaps it was with that thought it mind that they wasted no time in earning the needed points, squeaking out hard fought wins over Winthrop, 1-0, and Saugus, 2-1, on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week.

The Winthrop contest was what Lyons described as an “incredibly physical game,” but the Lady Patriots stood tall on defense as they thwarted the Vikings in their effort to notch the equalizer.

Ditto the next day against Saugus, a team which had beaten Revere 3-0 in their first match this season. However, despite the previous day’s rough encounter (or maybe because of it), Revere rose to the occasion thanks to goals by Marissa Parent and sophomore Sam Pineau. Julie Noel assisted on Parent’s goal and Marissa provided the assist on Pineau’s.

Lyons was effusive in her praise of keeper Melissa Adreani, sweeper Chelsea Amaya, and stopper Brittany Brown for their play in the victories.

The Lady Pats, who finished the season with a 7-7-2 record, still have a game with Everett in a contest that does not count toward the tourney. They then will await the announcement of their tourney seeding and pairing, which marks the first time that a Revere girls soccer team has ventured into the post season since 1994.

“We’re all very excited,” said Lyons. “The girls have worked hard and overcome many obstacles to get this far. I am very proud of this team.”

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