HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER: Silver Lake’s defense, Dwyer’s tally propel Lakers to state semifinal

KINGSTON – Prior to the start of this season, Silver Lake Regional High girls soccer coach Scott Williams thought this was all a possibility.

Now it is indeed the Lakers’ reality.

Fourth-seeded Silver Lake will make a trip to the Division 2 state semifinal after goals from Lauren Dwyer and Shea Kelleher along with a stout defensive effort propelled the Lakers past No. 5 Danvers, 2-1, in their quarterfinal showdown Saturday at Sirrico Field.

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With the victory, Silver Lake (13-4-4) advances to the Final Four – it’s the first time the Lakers have made it this far under Williams, who is in his eighth season at the helm – where it will face Patriot League foe and top-seeded Plymouth North, which earned a 5-0 win over Grafton in the quarterfinals.

“One of the messages I gave these girls in the preseason was that if we focused improving every day that we came here and working together, we would have a shot to really challenge for the state title,” Williams said. “To see this team in the Final Four now, it’s totally everything we’ve worked for.”

Dwyer’s tally in the 28th minute proved to be the difference. The senior captain was opportunistic after she intercepted a goal kick in the middle of field before delivering a low, hard shot into the bottom left corner from 25 yards out to break a 1-1 deadlock.

“I knew I had space in the middle,” Dwyer said. “I was honestly thinking to play it out wide, but I was like, ‘Whatever, might as well shoot the ball.’ I was so thankful it went in.”

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Getting scoring opportunities was a situation Dwyer seldom found herself in through her first three seasons with the Lakers since she played primarily as a defender.

But she made the transition to a more offensive role this year and it paid dividends for the Lakers with the Patriot League All-Star continuing to make an immense impact wherever she is positioned.

“I’ll play wherever,” Dwyer said. “It’s just so nice winning for your team and having your team behind you. Any position, anywhere. It’s awesome.”

Said Williams: “She’s the engine that helps drive this team. To see her get that goal, I couldn’t be more happy. She deserved it and earned it.”

After putting Silver Lake ahead late in the first half, Dwyer moved from an attacking position to a defensive center midfielder spot to focus more on containing Danvers star midfielder Arianna Bezanson. Dwyer also received help from junior midfielder Kendyl Peterson to neutralize Bezanson as the Colgate commit couldn’t add to her 85 career goals.

With Bezanson well-marked, Danvers (15-3-3) struggled to generate offense in the second half, mustering just two shots on net that didn’t trouble senior goalie Emma Hudson (three saves). The best chances for the Falcons came over the final seven minutes on two shots from Bezanson, including one on a free kick, but both times the ball sailed harmlessly over the crossbar.

“Ari’s a special player. Unfortunately, sometimes we count on her too much,” said Danvers coach Jimmy Hinchion. “I felt we played way more like individuals. Where as Silver Lake, everything was done as a team and you could see the difference. I think we tried to do too much on our own and it hurt us.”

Silver Lake had to wait just over an hour to close out Danvers with the game delayed with 5:52 left due to inclement weather.

The Lakers didn’t lose focus despite the long layoff and Silver Lake’s back line cleared away any threats to ensure a celebration took place.

“It was just about getting a foot on the ball and just keep it away from our net,” Williams said. “The last six minutes was just safety. It’s always tough coming back after a break like that when you’re sitting for a few minutes. Your body gets cold. You're not quite ready to go, but they were ready.”

Silver Lake opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Kelleher used her speed to go on a long run down the right wing with the ball before firing a blast into the opposite corner past goalie Emily Goddard, who was excellent in net for the Falcons and finished with eight saves.

The momentum and lead were short-lived as on the ensuing kickoff, Bezanson worked her way through Silver Lake’s defense and made a cross to junior Eliana Anderson, who deposited her shot into the net from within front 51 seconds later.

But Danvers couldn’t breakdown Silver Lake’s defense again with the back line of Anna Billings, Allison Powderly, Kendra Donahue and Devon Knupp stepping up in front of Hudson.

“We played awesome for the first 15 minutes and then some reason we went into a shell,” Hinchion said. “They scored that gorgeous goal, but we got it right back. But for some reason, I couldn’t figure it out, we got completely timid and they completely dictated the pace of the game the rest of the way.”

Now the Lakers prepare for a third meeting with Plymouth North this season. The two sides split one-goal decisions in the regular season series and Williams expects nothing less than another tightly-contested game with a chance to go to the state final on the line.

“I don’t think either team will be scared of what the other one has,” Williams said. “We’re familiar with each other and it will just be another good battle.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Silver Lake girls soccer beats Danvers to advance to state semifinal