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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Following a preseason trip to the Granite State that concluded with a hike up Mount Monadnock, the DS girls soccer team returned home last week for the start of school and the kickoff their 2016 season.
On Friday night, the Raiders took on Hopkinton and gave the Hillers all they could handle as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The Raiders (0-1-1) entered Friday’s game coming off a tough 3-2 defeat in their season opener at the hands of TVL rivals Westwood.
DS found themselves behind 0-2 at the half against Westwood in their season opener. However, the Raiders were able to fight back with a sense of urgency and cracked a pair of goals to knot game at two with just minutes remaining in the tilt.
Unfortunately, the comeback was for naught, as Westwood was able to find the back of the net in stoppage time and pull out the win, putting DS in the loss column to begin the season despite their efforts that led to tying the game up late. Despite the loss, the Raiders showed a lot of heart just by fighting back to tie the game against Westwood, and they carried that momentum into Friday’s matchup with Hopkinton.
Led by goalkeeper Sabrina Doyle (five saves), and team captain Leah Balmer, the lady Raiders were able to hold off a late onslaught of shots on goal by Hopkinton. Unlike in the season opener against Westwood, the Raiders were able to hold on and preserve the tie.
Obviously, a tie is not the outcome that any team ever strives for. However, in a conference as competitive and enriched with soccer talent such as the Tri-Valley League, wins and draws of any kind are hugely important, especially in conference matchups.
The Raiders will look to crack the win column on Tuesday when they travel to face Norton before hosting arch rivals Medfield on Thursday.
