Item Sports: Clinton girls soccer team young, eyeing chance to play in state tournament

CLINTON – The Clinton High School girls soccer team is inching closer to qualifying for the statewide tournament, which begins next month.

The state tournament is new this year, and it has been six years since the Gaels qualified for the post-season, having obtained a .500 or better record, for the Central Mass. Division 4 tournament in 2016. 

After a 5-2 loss to Maynard in the first round of the Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association (CMADA) tournament, which allows all teams to participate regardless of record, the Gaels played Tyngsborough in a tournament consolation game on Wednesday, after the Item went to press.

According to Clinton Athletic Director John Smith, if the Gaels defeat Tyngsborough, then they would finish with a 7-7-2 record, which would automatically qualify them for the state tournament. If not, they would have to wait to see if they qualify under the power ranking system.

“Either way, they still have a chance to make it (state tournament),” Smith said. “Hopefully, they will get in on strength of record, but they may rank high enough to be a lower seed in the (state) tournament.”

If Clinton doesn’t advance to the state tournament, the Gaels have still posted their best record in six years.

“We have a young team and it has been a great season,” Clinton coach Christine Tenneson said. “We’ve had solid contributions from a lot of different girls on the team.”

“We’ve had several games that have been very close,” she said.

The captains this season are senior Shannon Maloney, and juniors Ava Lemanski, Ella Chiounard and Maddie Denson.

Maloney, like all her teammates, is looking forward to continuing the season.

“I’ve been on the team since my freshman year and being a captain of a young team has been great; we have worked well together,” Maloney said. “We are a discipled and determined team.”

Lemanski, the team’s leading scorer, is a center midfielder and striker.

“This (season) is the best we’ve played in a long time,” Lemanski said. “We’ve been working well as a team, and improving with every game. Our coach is great and we worked hard in the off-season to get to this point.”

Chiounard is a center back, but has played some midfield.

“We have a young team with only two seniors and we’ve become close as a team,” Chiounard said. “The team dynamic has really worked well, as we are friends both on and off the field.

 “We’ve had some losses, but I think that has brought us closer together as a team,” she said. “We work through the losses, and then go out and try to win the next game.”

Denson is looking forward to playing more games.

“We’ve improved a lot, and keep getting better and better,” Denson said. “Our goal is to get to that state tournament, which no team has ever done.”

Besides a solid offense, the Gaels have a host of standouts on defense, which is anchored by senior Thayna Ferreira.

“Thayna (Ferreira) is a rock-solid goalkeeper and has saved goals for us that other keepers might not have gotten in the corners,” Tenneson said. “She has been a great asset for us.

“Overall, the defense has been solid, but we have players move around a lot,” she said. “I’ve always believed that the best players can play any position.”

Ferreira, who has earned four shutouts this season, is looking to be a netminder in college.

“I’ve been a field player, but I’ve always loved being a keeper,” Ferreira said. “Keeper is my passion and I hope to play in college.

“Last year was my first year (as a goalie) and I really like it,” she said. “Hopefully, we’ll keep playing.”

Lemanski, and freshman Ella Askren, second on the team in scoring, both scored a goal in the loss to Maynard. Freshman Ryan Michaud leads the team in assists.

“I always stress contributions from everyone on the team,” Tenneson said. “We have several players who have scored goals, Ryan Michaud has been a real playmaker for us and is one of our go-to corner kickers.

“We’ve scored a number of goals off corners,” she said. “We have had some good set pieces from our corner kickers.”    

Other juniors on the squad are Abby Jordan, Allie Garreffi, Jen Arevalo, Phoenix Ramos, Kassidy Diem, Allison McKenzie and Natalia Martin.

The lone sophomore is Madisyn Cunha, while Ella Houle is the other freshman on the team.

The junior varsity coach is Kate Moran, while Kelli Peete coaches the middle school team.