Mallards Complete Perfect Season With Title

Mallards Complete Perfect Season With Title
wps girls cutline

BERLIN- Worcester Prep’s girls’ varsity soccer team completed its rare perfect season last week, beating old rival Saints Peter and Paul, 4-0, on Friday to claim the Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference championship and finish with an unblemished 11-0 record.

Last Wednesday, the Mallards dispensed with Salisbury Christian, 6-0, in the ESIAC semifinals to earn a trip to the conference championship and another date with old rival Saints Peter and Paul. The Sabres had won the ESIAC title in five straight years including last year’s dramatic 1-0 win over Worcester in double overtime.

Although Worcester had Saints Peter and Paul’s number during the regular season with a pair of shutout wins, almost anything can happen and usually does when the old rivals meet, especially in a championship game. The two teams played a tense first half with neither able to break through until Delaney Abercrombie got Worcester on the board with about three minutes remaining in the period for a 1-0 lead.

About three minutes into the second half, Worcester scored again on a goal by Julia D’Antonio to push the lead to 2-0. The Mallards scored two more times within the next four minutes on goals by Abercrombie and Karlie Southcomb to break the game open. The Worcester defense took care of business the rest of the way and the Mallards cruised to the ESIAC title and the perfect 11-0 season.

To put the special season in perspective, the Mallards recorded nine shutouts among the 11 wins and gave up single goals in just two contests. The last goal Worcester gave up was against Gunston in an 8-1 win back on September 30. The Mallards outscored their opponents by a combined 60-2 and averaged over five goals per game during the remarkable unbeaten stretch.