Nine Warrior Seniors Victoriously Cap Skyline Park Career

By Eliot Schickler

Nine Brookline High girls soccer team seniors capped their Skyline Park careers on a winning note with a 2-1 victory over Framingham High last Wednesday, October 23.

Brookline raised its record to 7-6-3 with the victory before ending the regular season with a 5-0 win at Danvers High (the story will appear in the coming days). Framingham dropped to 6-8-2 before finishing the season with two non-league wins.

The Warriors dominated for the most part before suffering before the Flyers elevated their game in the second half and made it too close for comfort for the hostesses.

“It was great to see all the seniors contribute and earn a hard-fought victory on Senior Day,” Brookline Coach Ben Peters said. “They’ve all worked so hard throughout their soccer careers to get to this point and it’s been such an honor to be able to coach them and watch them grow.”

Two returning All-Bay State Conference selections from last year, senior quad-captains Anna Leschly and Sydney Freese combined for both Warrior goals in the first half, with a couple of give-and-go plays with Leschly netting both markers, and Freese assisting on both plays.

“As seniors, we were motivated to end on a high note at Skyline, so I would so that was a large motivator for me before the game,” Leschly said. “But regardless of the game, I want to give my all and set my team up for success, so that was really all on my mind.”

Freese said, “There’s something about Anna. She’s very fluid with the ball, and I figured if I got it to her when she’s in the vicinity of the net, she’d do some amazing things with it.”

The first give-and-go play began with Freese receiving the ball off a clear from junior Mirabelle Keselman, who received the past the midfield, and juked past a Framingham defender while heading to the box. That’s when she tapped the ball to Leschly, who slid it into the net.

“I found Sydney’s feet and she drove inside, slipping me through their back line,” Leschly said.
“I was one-on-one with the goalie and poked it by the keeper. I think the key to this goal was playing direct and dangerous in the final third.”

Junior Priscilla Hill drew a Flyer foul near midfield, albeit slightly on the Warriors’ side of the pitch. Keselman took the free kick and passed it to Leschly, who eluded Framingham defenders as she approached the net. Before reaching the box, she sent a touch pass to Freese on the left wing, who eluded Flyer defenders on her way to the net in which she tried to center it, only to be walled off by the Flyers.

That turned out not to be a problem for Brookline because it earned the hostesses a corner kick. Freese took it from the left side, and it bounced off of Framingham defenders, but the rebound bounced back to Freese, who was one-on-one with the defense in approaching the box, but was able to elude her. Once she was inside the box, she sent a touch-centering pass towards the net, where Leschly was crashing towards the area and booted the ball into the net.

“The second goal came from an amazing play by Sydney,” Leschly said. “She got around a Framingham defender, crossed it in, and I did all I could to get something on it. Since it was such a perfect set-up, I wanted to be able to finish it for Sydney and the team.”

The Warriors kept on pressing the net and had a chance to add to their lead, but Flyer senior goalie Allie Regan was equal to the task.

Regan, who is a star for Framingham’s girls basketball team and is expected to play that sport in college, hasn’t played soccer since seventh grade, was a neophyte between the pipes, and never played the position back in her youth soccer days.

However, Flyers soccer coach Jen DeFusco noticed Regan’s athleticism while watching her play basketball, and asked her to try out for the goalie position. The basketball star was impressive in her tryout to play goalie, and as the saying goes, the rest is history.

Much to Brookline’s dismay, Regan returned to the pitch and thrived in her new position, thwarting senior quad-captains Makena Hammond and Vilena Tchernychev, as well as Freese and Leschly, along with juniors Jada Kimbro, Amalia Lindgren-Palm, Elin Lindgren-Palm and Julia Vianello, who is primarily a defender and helped Brookline’s stout backfield. Seniors Ashley Churwin and Nora Sheu, junior Eva Berkson, and sophomore Paige Hammond helped set up the attack with crisp passes toward the box.

Senior goalie Julia Churwin made a few big saves for the Warriors and aggressively cut down the angle when a Flyer was in hot pursuit of the net.

“I just stayed focused, and I put the team first,” Julia Churwin said.

Before the first half ended, Churwin made a save on Ava Lombardo’s free kick, getting a hand on the ball, while sealing off the nearby post.

Making Julia Churwin’s job easier between the pipes is the Warriors’ stout defense, led by seniors Babette Hall and Greta Radtke, along with Keselman, Vienello, and junior Lila Cannon along with sophomores Jamie Magee and Hannah Greer. Elin Lindgren-Palm and Amalia Lindgren-Palm also helped out on defense.

“Communication is the key, and it’s important in the backfield,” Hall said.

While Brookline controlled the first half, and kept on pressing after halftime, Framingham picked up its game and played better in the second half. Lombardo and junior Lexi Sullivan fired serious shots that Jullia Churwin made impressive saves on.

Churwin’s twin sister Ashley also helped, sending a crisp to Hill, who moved towards the box, but the Flyer defensive players picked up their game in the second half and were better able to neutralize the Warrior attack. Leschly also sent a tapper which set up Tchernychev on a jaunt to the 18-meter box, but Framingham was able to negate the attack.

Brookline did get a few golden shots on the net, with Freese, Leschly, Tchernychev, Makena Hammond, Paige, and Kimbro getting close, but Regan made the save each time a Warrior launched one.

The Flyers managed to score, taking advantage of drawing a foul, which awarded them with a free kick. Senior Sofia Carney took it from a wide angle about 15 meters away from the 18-meter box and nailed it with a rainbow trajectory in which the ball took flight and freakishly landed in the net.

Following Carney’s goal, Brookline had to hold on for dear life to end Senior Day victoriously, but Julia Churwin was equal to the task, and was helped by Hall, Keselman, Amalia Lindgren-Palm, Cannon, Vienello, Radtke, Magee. The Warriors had a chance to pad their lead when Leschly’s touch pass to Makena Hammond gave them a golden scoring chance, but Regan cut down the angle.

It appeared as if Brookline may have suffered a letdown in the second half, but Framingham is a decent team, playing in a tough conference.

“We can only control what we can control, and I’m happy to get the win,” Makena Hammond said.

Tchernychev said, “It’s great to leave with the win. I think we played well, but we have more to give. We have different levels of how we play, and we need to raise it to another level.”

Freese said, “The second half could have been better, but we played for each other and tried our best. There’s something about this team, and we’ll be fine.”

The Warriors understand that Senior Day festivities can sometimes be emotionally draining. Many good teams in Connecticut had letdowns either at the start or end of the game, but those teams found ways to win, just like Brookline did.

“I think we were aggressive in the final third and had a solid performance throughout the whole game,” Leschly said. “Going forward, we want to be more dominant and capitalize on our chances, but it felt good to get the win on Senior Night.”

All nine seniors had their backstory. Ashley Churwin missed her junior year because of an ACL and lateral meniscus injury. Churwin served as the team manager last year and was happy to return her to the pitch her senior year.

“It was really hard to watch the other girls play, and not being able to play,” Churwin said. “It was a great accomplishment to come back.”

Julia Churwin was a forward for the JV squad and scored between five and 10 goals. After current Colby College sophomore goalie and former two-sport captain (two-year girls basketball captain) Talia Thompson graduated in June 2023, the Warriors needed a new goalie, and Churwin
volunteered.

“They said they didn’t have one, and I played goalie when I was younger, so I decided to play goalie,” Julia Churwin said. “I think it’s quite different playing goalie than in the field and it requires more mental focus.”

Saying goodbye to Skyline Park will be a huge challenge for the nine seniors. They enjoyed their careers for the Warriors, both home and away.

“It was great to be surrounded by all the wonderful girls, and I’m sad they will no longer be my teammates,” Radtke said.

Sheu said, “I think it was surreal because a lot of seniors played at Skyline since sixth grade, and there were a lot of emotions.”

Hall said, “There was a lot of emotion. I’ve playing at Skyline since I was 6. We had a lot of good camaraderie.”

Ashley Churwin said, “It felt really good to play [one last time at Skyline].”

Julia Churwin said, “I think it was really sad [playing my last game at Skyline], but I had fun playing soccer with my friends.”

The four captains also have Skyline memories.

“It was really emotional and so sad,” Tchernychev said. “I played at Skyline with my brothers from age 6-7, and it’s great to leave here with a win.”

Freese said, “It sets in at moments and doesn’t set in at other moments. I’ve been playing at Skyline since I was little, and I didn’t think this day would come.”

Makena Hammond said, “It was emotional since I was playing at Skyline since I was little. It was great to leave here with the win.”

Leschly said, “It was pretty emotional to play our last game at Skyline, but simultaneously I felt so grateful to be able to share that moment with my teammates and especially my fellow seniors. It is such a special group that includes some of my closest friends in the world, and while it is sad to think that we won’t play in a regular season game again at Skyline, we have so much to look back on and be proud of.”

Senior Day as a whole was a joyous occasion.

“It was such a special day. From the game itself to seeing all of our senior posters to hearing parent speeches, it was a perfect day,” Leschly said. “The ceremony was amazing and I loved hearing from both parents and teammates. I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter Senior Day.”