GRAFTON – With both teams playing to protect undefeated records, the matchup between the Grafton and Algonquin girls varsity soccer teams finished in a 0-0 draw on Oct. 8 in Grafton.
Grafton, who stands 11-0-1, and Algonquin, who is 5-0-5, last met in the final round of last year’s Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association girls’ soccer tournament, where Grafton won by a score of 2-1 to claim the championship.
“We knew this coming into the season that this would be one of our toughest games,” said Grafton Head Coach Matt Bazinet. “We definitely got some opportunities, but they’re fast. They were on every touch and every shot we had.”
Grafton had a similarly strong defensive performance, which has become commonplace for the Gators’ squad who have now shut out their opponents in 10 out of 12 matches this season. Algonquin Head Coach John Frederick acknowledged the collective defensive effort from both sides in the scoreless tie.
“Grafton is a really good team, so they are not going to make it easy to score against,” said Frederick. “We certainly had a hard time breaking them down. We were able to get to the end line quite a bit, but we weren’t able to do much with our service when we were able to get in.”
With just weeks remaining in the regular season, both teams have their sights set on deep runs in both the Central Mass. tournament and the state tournament that follows.
“We are just trying to get better headed into the playoffs,” Frederick said. “Our style of play is coming to fruition. We tend to control the ball a lot in our games, so if we can get on the end and make the possessions count it will be a good thing for us.”
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