Soccer (Varsity)
vs. Suffield Academy

Game Summary

On Monday afternoon, The Ethel Walker School varsity soccer team hosted Suffield Academy in a contest between two NEPSAC Class B opponents. Walker’s jumped out to a quick start scoring four goals in the opening eight minutes and added a fifth 10 minutes before halftime. Suffield responded with two goals before halftime. The home side made it 6-2 to start the second half and that was enough on the day despite a comeback mounted from Suffield as they scored the final three goals of the fixture. On the season, Walker’s now holds a 5-1 record.

In the opening eight minutes, the home side scored on their first four shots of the game. Janalyn Weber ’26 set up Gisselle Peña ’26 65 seconds after the opening whistle and then they reversed roles less than 90 seconds later to make it 2-0. Five minutes into the game, Melia Belden ’27 pounced on a loose ball in the box and slotted a pass to her left as Nona Gibert Francisco ’28 scored the first goal of her Walker’s career. Belden then made it 4-0 when she scored on an assist from Peña. The score remained that way for 23 minutes, but Peña gave Walker’s a five-goal advantage when she scored a beautiful goal from the corner of the penalty box. The assist on that goal was from Caroline Hayes ’27 for her second of the season.

Suffield responded with two goals before halftime one minute and 44 seconds apart. In the first half, Suffield outshot the Wildcats 10-8, and Emma Mazur ’27 recorded six saves in the goal for Walker’s.

Weber and Peña combined again to start the second half just two minutes and 44 seconds after Suffield took the kick-off. Peña completed her hat-trick on the play as Weber recorded her second assist of the afternoon. On the season, Peña now has three goals and five assists while Weber has five and four, respectively.

The Tigers finished the game strong and scored the final three goals of the game, including their fifth with 3:47 remaining on the clock. Walker’s held on for the win despite the pressure from Suffield right up to the final whistle. Over the past four seasons, Walker’s scored first in the matchup between the two sides in 2022, 2023 and 2024, but Suffield came back to win each time. This win for the Wildcats ended their three-game losing streak against Suffield.

Next up for Walker’s is a trip to Cushing Academy on Wednesday, October 1st. It will be the first matchup between the two schools in another matchup of Class B opponents. Kickoff is set for 3:00 in Ashburnham, MA.