Mansfield Girls Soccer Edges Past KP 1-0

A strong first half and an opportune corner by Mansfield was King Philip’s undoing. Despite a better second half that saw the Warriors outshoot the Hornets 8-3, the Hornets walked away with a 1-0 win against the Warriors.

The winning goal came during the 24 minute after Mansfield was awarded a corner kick despite the fact that it looked to some that the ball was touched last by Mansfield.

“I don’t often try to blame the referees but he made a real bad call and that cost us,” said King Philip coach Greg Massotti

The Hornets made the most of the corner kick as Michaela Bowes found the net to score the only goal of the contest.

“She (Bowes) just ran right through it. Nice low driven ball and finished,” said Hornets coach Kevin Smith.

Struggling to get shots near the goal, the Warriors were forced to rely on free kicks to get anything near the net. The set pieces got the ball near the net but the Warriors couldn’t find a way to take advantage of them.

“We did a really nice job on those. Created a lot of opportunities we just couldn’t find the back of the net,” said Massotti.

Once the second half began it was a new game. Struggling to stop the Warriors from attacking, the Hornets heavily relied on goalkeeper Kelly English to stop the Warriors.

“I couldn’t blame them (KP) for the effort. The effort was outstanding in the second half. Said Massotti.

The Warriors’ best chance came in the 42 minute when a KP free kick danced around the net a little bit. Despite a header by the Warriors and a near goal, English eventually got a hold of the ball to end the threat.

 It was a tale of two halves for both teams. While Mansfield showed they could dominate the game, they were forced to scramble to finish off King Philip.           

“The first half was just possession," Smith then added, "position was excellent." He noted, "the energy and movement off the ball was fantastic". He explained if they, "do that for 80 minutes instead of just 40. Boy we’re in good shape,” said Smith.

The win now qualifies Mansfield for the state tournament with a record of 7-3-4 and 18 points while the Warriors are now 4-6-3 with 11 points.

Next up for the Warriors will be a showdown with the North Attleboro Red Rocketeers. Match time is set for 6 p.m. on October 18 in Wrentham. The Hornets will have eight days off before they have to play the Attleboro Blue Bombardiers. The Bombardiers will host the Hornets at 3:30 on October 21.