By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
LYNNFIELD — Four members of the Lynnfield High field hockey team received postseason honors by the Cape Ann League coaches.
Two Pioneers were named to the CAL First-Team All-Stars while two other made the CAL Second-Team All-Stars.
The two First-Team All-Stars were senior captains, Gia Marotta and Taylor Valiton. It is the second year on the First-Team for both players.
Marotta, a center-midfielder, also made the prestigious Best of 60 team as well.
“She is the engine behind our success,” stated Pioneers head coach Kerri Doherty. “She is our best playmaker. She is skilled, dedicated and a real vocal leader.”
Marotta had one goal and nine assists this fall.
Valiton, who played forward, had 13 goals to go with nine assists to finish with 22 points.
“She has a lot of energy and is a very positive presence,” said Doherty. “She has great body positioning in the circle and was our leading scorer.”
The two Second-Team All-Stars are Lauren Mattia and Lily Alves. It is the first postseason honor for both players.
Mattia, a sophomore right-midfielder, had two goals and eight assists in the regular season.
“She is a true competitor,” said Doherty. “Her speed and stick work stood out.”
Alves, a junior center-back, had eight assists and made two defensive saves.
“She was an integral part of our defense,” said Doherty. “She is a smart player with poise and could always find the gaps in which to pass the ball up field.”
This season, the Pioneers reached the MIAA Division 4 quarterfinals game before losing to host Sutton, 2-0, back on Nov. 10.
The Pioneers had their end-of-season awards banquet on Dec. 3.
That night, Doherty gave out five awards which all went to seniors.
Marotta received the team MVP Award while the LAA Scholar Athlete Award went to Libby Considine.
Valiton was given the Golden Stick Award which is given to the player who helped the offense most this year.
The Unsung Hero Award went to goalie Lauren MacDonald.
The Mamie Reardon Legacy Award went to Chloe Gromko. Reardon coached the Pioneers for 37 years and built the program to what it is today. She was also Doherty’s coach when she was at Lynnfield High.
Doherty had high praise for the five seniors,
“They were an amazing class and made the transition for me much easier,” said Doherty. “It is bittersweet because I would love to get to coach them again. They set a great example for the younger players.”
This fall, the Pioneers reached the MIAA Division 4 quarterfinals before losing to host Sutton, 2-0, back on Nov. 10.
Overall, Lynnfield finished with a record of 14-4-3.
In the CAL, they ended up in second place in the Kinney Division behind co-champions North Reading and Newburyport going 10-2-2.
“I think we had a successful year,” stated Doherty. “We came together as the season went along and when we beat undefeated North Reading in the middle of the year, it gave us confidence.”
Next season, the team is slated to return 10 veterans.
“I am really excited about next season,” said Doherty. “The girls we lose will be big shoes to fill but the girls we have coming back know what we need to do, especially the new captains we elected.”
The players voted on next year’s captains at the banquet and they are juniors Izzy Fiorentino, Lily Alves and Cameron Munion.