Mansfield Blanks Stoughton High Girls' Soccer

Coming off a 3-0 win on the road at Taunton on Saturday, the Stoughton High girls’ soccer team looked to keep the momentum going Monday afternoon at Mansfield, but the Hornets came away with a 2-0 win, shutting down the Stoughton offense.

"We fought hard today," Mansfield head coach Kevin Smith said. "We're getting better and we're working harder."

Mansfield made the majority of shot attempts, while Stoughton could not find a way to answer back. Stoughton played good defense during the game, but ultimately could not keep the ball out of their zone.

"We need a lot of work," said Stoughton head coach Gary Muello. "We haven't had many practices; we had a busy week last week with four games in a matter of six days. I think they're tired."

Stoughton managed to keep the game scoreless during the first half, but Mansfield’s Rebecca Kem netted their first goal within the first few minutes of the second half, with an assist from Michaela Bowes.

With 14:33 left in the game, Mansfield struck again with a goal from Sofia Busharis, assisted by Abby Broyles.

"We had a lot of opportunities to put it in," Smith said. "We've still got to work on our finishing...that's one thing that we struggle with."

It was a different story on Saturday for the Black Knights. Against Taunton, senior Mikayla Williams put Stoughton on the board in the first half. The team added two insurance goals in the second half from senior Alicia Macomber and Williams to ice the victory.

An all-around team defensive effort in the shutout win was led by backliners Williams, Macomber, senior Julia Rodenbusch and juniors Megan Crimmins and Marlena Siegel. They helped Sophomore goalkeeper Rachel Berkowsky notch her first career shutout for the Black Knights.

The Taunton win snapped a three-game losing streak and three-game scoreless streak.

Stoughton, 2-4 on the season, will look to get back on track Wednesday against North Attleboro.