Coming off their its Div. 1 state title in 20 years, Wellesley is poised to make another run with coach Dave Wainwright at the helm.
The Raiders may have graduated eight seniors, but they still have several returners to their varsity squad and are always tested with a tough Bay State Conference schedule.
“It’s challenging,” said Wainwright about having to regroup this offseason with only four rising juniors. “So many responsibilities that need to be filled and those responsibilities were relegated to underclassmen.”
Now, senior captains Emily Burnham, goalie Cam Walsh, versatile midfielder Caroline Keye and Ellery Gerhart are the veteran voices, along with new coaches, including former player Abby Comella, who has joined as an assistant coach.
“Couldn’t be more thrilled,” Wainwright said about getting the season going. “We want to blaze our own trail.”
Also out of the same conference, Natick has three senior captains with Proia twins – Nicole and Lydia – committed to Seton Hall, and Abby McCauley committed to Fordham to set the pace and distribute balls through the midfield. They are true leaders who lead by example on the field. The Redhawks also return goalkeepers Katie McMahon and Liesl Niedermeyer.
Brookline has senior captains Mirabelle Keselman, Julia Vianello and Elin Lindgren-Palm along with junior midfielder Paige Hammond.
In the Catholic Central, Div. 1 runner-up Bishop Feehan has a talented young team with senior captain Lanie Cawley (Stonehill commit) at wing and junior Addie Hansbury at center back.
Hopkinton from the Tri-Valley League will also be a tough out come playoff time.
After winning its first title since 1989, Masconomet had a large group of rising juniors after four seniors graduated, and another starter is out with an injury. Senior captains Cate Shaffer and Violet Malinowski, with junior Maggie Blosser (University of Maryland commit), will look to build off their historical season without Maggie’s twin sister Lily Blosser, who will be out for the season with an injury. Evy Mills will be back in the net, while Sadie Morris will return on defense.
Out of the Patriot League, Duxbury will look to get back to the Div. 2 state final as senior Lauren Sutliffe (Northeastern commit), junior captain Regan Donovan and Olivia Coperine lead the way.
Mansfield from the Hockomock League will also look to compete in Div. 2.
In Div. 3, Medfield returns a strong group, including seniors Emily Hoffman (High Point commit), Elizabeth George (Dartmouth commit) and junior Sidney Heavey (University of Central Florida commit). Senior Stella Scobba, juniors Morganne Kilmer, Audrey Grandinetti and sophomores Devon Weafer, Lyla Manning and Somer Higgins are also players to watch for the Div. 3 runnerups.
Another team to make it to the Div. 3 semifinals was Norwell, which has star junior Kelsey Tuttle, who is committed to Louisville. The Clippers also have senior Anja Johnson at midfield and juniors Hannah Morse and Ally Kelley at the forward position.
In the Dual County League, Weston graduated a deep senior class and 10 of its 20 players are juniors, including Logann Bates, who leads the defense at center back. Senior captain Linda Wang will be at right back, and goalie Millie McVie will make her varsity debut. Juniors Eva Ferris, Izzy Wheeler and Grace Feingold will play the midfield with senior captains Annie Rassiger and Searcy Kilgallen leading the group of forwards.
Cardinal Spellman also made the Div. 3 semifinals and looks towards senior captains Caroline Bligh and Mackenzie Potter to get them back on a deep playoff run. Freshmen Ella Osgood, Brynn Nickley and Emerson McCann are all expected to make contributions at attack and halfback.
For Div. 4, Cohasset graduated superstar Tess Barrett, and it will be a tough hole to fill on the offensive side. Senior striker Ava Carcio is looking to reach her 100th point this season, while Molly Campbell and Meghan Smith lead a stingy defense with senior goalie Kylee Ziady at the back line. Freshman Molly Doherty, Brynn Dwyer, Zoe Evans and Teddy Cunningham are fitting in and are already contributing.
Out of the Cape Ann League, Lynnfield is also a potential dark horse in the Div. 4 field.
In Div. 5, Hull is looking to get back to the state finals after a 3-2 loss to Douglas. The Pirates graduated five starters, but return several seniors, including South Shore League All-Star goalkeeper Montana Alibrando, defenders Emily Irby and Hannah Pearson and Abby Jeffroes-Ranger on offense.
Junior co-captain Libby Harper is the top returning goal scorer, while juniors Georgia White and Meghan Duran will be returning starters. With sophomores Brianna Ramos, Gianna, Thorne, Mackenzie Macleod and Addison Littlefield, along with eighth-grader Aubrey Littlefield, Hull looks to continue its recent success.
Georgetown will also be a tough out in the Div. 5 bracket as it returns 17 players, including senior captains Jenna Johnson, Kate Davies, Liana Nakatsugawa, Maddie Cirone and Alyssa Ziolkowski. Senior Cora Robinson will be in the net, while seniors Keelin O’Malley, Lilah Arabian-Randall and Emma Sadler, as well as junior Kat Greenblatt, will play striker. The midfield will be composed of senior Jamisen Tanzilli and juniors Olivia Willis and Alana Smith. The Royals should be fun to watch.
