Late goal leads Winchester to Middlesex League victory over Wilmington

WINCHESTER It is invariably stressful playing in your first varsity contest It would be easy to back down under the pressure Yet when her unit needed her preponderance Audrey Houllahan made her moment count The Winchester girls soccer freshman sniped the game-clinching goal in the th minute Tuesday delivering the Red and Black a thrilling - win over Wilmington to open their fall campaign It felt really good Houllahan disclosed afterward To make it then win a meeting was crazy It was a new start and in more options than one for the Red and Black - With underclassmen on the roster it was a dramatic introduction For the majority of their season-opener they continued to pepper the Wilmington net only to be stymied by Wilmington s sophomore goaltender Jillian Weinstein It was a trend that would carry on into the latter stages the two schools still deadlocked in a scoreless contest Yet Winchester s group remained tightly-knit We have a lot of new players especially underclassmen explained Red and Black senior captain Lilly Ossen For it being our first event they jell so well with us and it felt really good to play with them on the field having been veterans Once the second half began Wilmington unveiled life as senior captain Alison McElligott took off on a breakaway However junior Amelia Burke came up with a heroic stop for Winchester preserving things in the process It turned out to be the best chance that the Wildcats would have all afternoon The sum would hold until the waning stages of regulation With the match hanging in the balance Houllahan slipped past a defender then angled her way upfield As players began to scramble by the net the freshman fired away gracefully sliding a shot past a diving Weinstein for what turned out to be the winning goal The rising star was directly mobbed by her teammates following her heroic feat It was a through-ball Houllahan recounted I just ran as fast as I could to get it I don t know what happened with the goalie but I think it kind of went through her For Eve Kretschmer it was a memorable start The interim coach was filling in for Winchester s rising head coach Michelle Ross who stepped down from the school this summer The decision came after a profitable first season under her watch when the Red and Black attained a - - record to pair with a Div Sweet appearance That commented Kretschmer is leaving the door open for Ross return however We all want Coach Ross back on the field as soon as achievable Kretschmer reported Really really big shoes to fill I m happy that I could be here to assistance the organization and backing the girls Hoping for a quick resolution so that she can be back here as soon as workable