STONEHAM — The Wakefield High girls’ hockey team has been working hard for a breakthrough in the win column all year.
The youngest team in the Middlesex League, Wakefield has gained valuable experience as they’ve worked eight 8th-graders and four freshmen into the lineup, but a victory has been hard to come by against a schedule that the MIAA has rated amongst the top 10 most difficult in Div. 2.
The Warriors found that victory on Wednesday night at the Stoneham Arena, defeating Div. 1 Lexington by a score of 3-1.
Wakefield came out ready to play, hitting a point of emphasis for the team and scoring the first goal of the game. That set the tone for the rest of the contest.
“We have been pushing our team to set the pace and not let our opponents dictate how we will play,” said head coach Jacqui Mansfield. “It worked last night with our team scoring first and building from there.”
That first goal — and in fact all three against the Minutemen — came from a first line that is officially in the groove as the Warriors enter the final two weeks of the season.
Freshman Paige Eriksen had 2 goals and an assist; junior captain Rory McNeill had a goal and 2 assists and 8th grader Maggie Boudreau added two assists.
Those three were dangerous on the puck all night, creating multiple opportunities and finishing strong.
“The first line of Eriksen, McNeill and Boudreau have really come together and given us the offensive punch that we needed,” said Mansfield.
Meanwhile, Wakefield’s defense, led by senior captain Maddy Taylor, locked in and kept the visitors at bay.
Starting goalie, 8th grader Gia Rizzuto, also stepped up to help secure Wakefield’s first win.
“Gia had some big saves and worked well with our defense to block shots, especially from the point,” said Mansfield.
In the end, it was a long-awaited and well-deserved victory for a team that has embraced change this year and committed themselves to building a foundation for the future of Wakefield girls’ hockey.
In addition to their youth and inexperience, Wakefield needed to adjust when their co-op with Northeast Metro Tech ran out before the season, losing multiple key players. All of those changes certainly created an uphill battle for the locals in an always-loaded Middlesex League, but to Wakefield’s credit, they’ve continued to get better, week-to-week and game-to-game.
“Overall, our entire team is improving in all areas of the game,” said Mansfield. “We want to keep this momentum going into our last six games of the season.”
The Warriors will travel to the Dorothy Talbot Rink tomorrow night at 7 p.m. to take on Gloucester. The Fishermen won the first matchup 4-2 in a close one on Dec. 23.
Wakefield will then host rival Melrose on Tuesday night, 6 p.m. at the Stoneham Arena.