Girls Soccer Senior Night Tie Shows Promise For Western Mass Playoffs

Competing hard against a well-prepared Agawam team earned both the Spartans and Brownies a point in Wednesday night’s game.

Freshman Emma Sousa’s lone goal for East Longmeadow, scored in the 31st minute of the second half off of an assist by senior Tia Tollis, was not enough to grab the Spartans a win, but the offensive opportunities were there for the team. 

With 20 minutes left to go in the game, senior captain Kayleigh Lukasik’s penalty shot was stopped by the Agawam goalkeeper, senior Kayla Santucci, which would have put the Spartans ahead by two goals.

Coming in just about five minutes after Lukasik’s opportunity was Agawam’s Angelina Kozhenevsky, scoring off a free kick near the 20-yard-line to tie the game at 1-1. 

Both teams came by multiple opportunities throughout the entirety of the game, with countless amounts of corners that did not connect with the back of the net. However, both goalies came up big and both defenses were able to shut each other’s offenses down.

A crucial aspect that allowed East Longmeadow to execute sharp, defensive efforts and stay in the game was communication between senior captain goalkeeper Taylor DeFlorio and her defenders.

“Throughout the season, I think we’ve really progressed with how we’ve communicated,” DeFlorio said. “It’s just very important, especially in games like these to stay in the game mentally and physically.”

The Central Connecticut State University commit’s highlight save of the game came with just under five minutes to go, as she confidently leapt into the air and tipped freshman Kylie Warner’s shot over the crossbar.

The loss of center backs Gabby Michalski and Nina Cuccovia from last year’s team have been tough, but DeFlorio claims the process of building back up their defense has consisted of “good, talented players.” 

East Longmeadow’s defensive core consists of underclassmen Kenna Marino and Jillian Stevens, along with the upperclassmen junior Lizzie Roman and senior Abby Davis, who is committed to play soccer at Northern Vermont University-Johnson. 

The issues that caused Agawam to get that many opportunities against the Spartans are fixable before they head to the Western Mass playoffs, according to both DeFlorio and head coach Terrence Leahy.

“I think that learning from our mistakes, bouncing back as quickly as we can, and lifting up every single player on the team is really important for us,” DeFlorio said.

“I just think we need consistency,” Leahy added. “Sometimes we do better when we’re against teams that are pressing us because we struggle with having too much space. I still love this group. We have very talented young players.”

As for the perspective of their second senior captain, Kayleigh Lukasik also believes that promoting positivity to the rest of the team has improved their performances so far in the season.

“I would say one of the biggest things we as the team have approved upon has been our ability to hold ourselves accountable for our individual mistakes and focusing on the positives rather than the negatives,” Lukasik said. “I’m extremely proud of how far our team has come and how each and every one of us continues to push each other both on and off the field.”

Lukasik, who tore her ACL halfway through last year’s season, continues to push through her individual struggles to set an example for the rest of the girls on this year’s team.

“If I’m holding myself to a high standard, am continuously working hard, and pushing myself on the field despite being exhausted, it will push the rest of the team to keep working,” Lukasik said. 

Both captains and Leahy agree that this year’s seniors aren’t the most talkative when it comes to on-field communication, but they are able to motivate their teammates in a different way.

“This class might not be the loudest, but they carry us on the field with their work ethic and desire to make our team better,” Leahy said.

“I have never been a loud or vocal person, so this role has been difficult to pursue, but I would say both Taylor and I have grown a lot as leaders throughout the season,” Lukasik said. “My leadership skills could still use some improvement, especially the vocal aspect, but my goal for the playoffs is to take on my leadership role with a positive mindset and use it to bring the team together for our final times together!”

The Spartans, who finished 3rd in their final conference rankings after battling out a 2-1 victory Thursday night over the No. 1 ranked Minnechaug Falcons, compete in the Western Mass playoffs later this week.