METHUEN, Mass. — It was just a matter of time for Methuen/Tewksbury.
The No. 3 Red Rangers fell behind just 58 seconds into a Merrimack Valley/Dual County clash with Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell.
The Rams' momentum, though, was short-lived.
Methuen/Tewksbury began to rack up pressure and chances through the remainder of the first period and most of the second, and they finally broke through goalie Elise McEachern with 2:35 to go in the second period when Ella Duffy shoveled home a loose puck to tie it.
From there, the momentum stayed with the Red Rangers. Hayden Reardon gave her team the lead just 32 seconds into the third with a wrister from the top of the right circle. McEachern got a piece of it with her glove, but it tumbled in.
Sarah Marano tacked on insurance when she sniped a top-shelf wrister from the high slot two minutes later. Sammy Ryan scored with 5:27 left in regulation for the 4-1 final, one-timing a backdoor pass from Lyla Chapman on a 4-on-3 power play.
Lydia Barnes earned the win for Methuen/Tewksbury, which remains undefeated 9-0-0.
Becca Sobol scored for Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell, which dropped its second straight game to fall to 6-2-0. Sobol forced a turnover in the neutral zone and broke in for a breakaway.
Let's dive into 13 standouts from the game.
Lyla Chapman
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2027, D, left shot
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.
NCAA: UMass Lowell (soccer)
Chapman was one of the most impactful skaters on the ice. She generated speed up ice in transition with her quick feet, and she identified skating lanes through the neutral zone. The junior set up the offensive sequence before Duffy's goal with a good rush and shot from the left circle. Chapman was terrific inside the offensive blue line, too, doing a good job of walking the blue line and finding passing lanes. Her ability to keep plays alive set up a great look for Reardon at the end of the second. She also set up Marano's goal in the third with a stretch pass on a regroup. Chapman's setup for Ryan was a thing of beauty, too, putting it right on her tape through a seam to the right post.
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Sarah Marano
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2027, F, left shot, 5-8
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.
Marano's line was a major part of the Red Rangers' first-period pressure, and she got quality chances throughout the game, thanks to a good connection with Sophia Barbosa. Marano's length helped her hang onto pucks and escape pressure from defenders, too. She got a chance in tight in the first off a cycle with Barbosa, who later sprung Marano free for a speedy rush and a shot with a slick pass from the boards. Marano also set up a terrific look for Duffy in the second, hitting her on the tape as she cut into the slot. Marano's goal in the third was a beauty as she drove into the slot and ripped a perfect wrister over the glove and under the bar. She got the sequence started with a good rush.
Violet Lorusso
Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell, Class of 2027, F, left shot, 5-6
Hometown: Bedford, Mass.
Lorusso was a key play-driver on the Rams' top line with Sobol and Isabella Thibert. Their line had some key responses to retake momentum, be it a shift at the end of the first, a strong offensive sequence after a Methuen/Tewksbury power play in the second or Duffy's goal. She was strong skating the puck through the neutral zone, including one shift after Duffy's goal when she stole the puck in her own end and got things going the other way. Lorusso got some quality chances, too, including one on the power play in the third. She hustled to keep the play alive out high before curling off the wall and into the high slot for a heavy shot that had eyes. Barnes made a great save.
Ella Duffy
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2026, F, right shot
Hometown: Methuen, Mass.
I wrote above that it was a matter of time for the Red Rangers, but it was really a matter of time for Duffy, who could have had multiple goals before she finally broke through. She was a menace all game, playing with plenty of strength and speed. Her speed showed through when she led the rush in some foot races she won. Duffy got a ton of dangerous looks between the dots, especially in the second, cutting to middle ice and taking advantage of turnovers. Naturally, it was a greasy chance that went in as she shoveled a loose puck in the slot on net that trickled through amid a scramble.
Hayden Reardon
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2030, F, left shot
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.
Reardon came alive at the end of the second period, getting a pair of fantastic looks in a monster shift to end the period. She found an open lane to the back post, driving hard to the net for a shot-pass from Duffy. They had it, but the puck just exploded over Reardon's backhand. She stuck with it and got another chance, cutting to the slot from the boards. Reardon got rewarded in the third after the Red Rangers kept it alive out high, driving back toward the right dot and putting a wrister on high-glove, and it found daylight.
Lydia Barnes
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2026, G, catches left, 5-6
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.
Barnes wasn't overly busy, making 14 saves, but she made key stops in the third as the Rams pushed for offense. She made a nice stop on Sobol's sharp-angle bid in the third before coming through with a pair of stops against quality looks for Lorusso, including one through traffic in the high slot. She somehow saw it and made a pad stop. I was really impressed with Barnes' communication with her defenders on regroups, helping them handle forechecking pressure. It paid off on one occasion where she alerted Chapman to far-side pressure coming around the net. It looked like Chapman was about to skate into it, but she threw on the brakes, reversed the other way and found an outlet.
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Becca Sobol
Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell, Class of 2027, F, right shot
Hometown: Bedford, Mass.
Sobol got it started for the Rams with a quick strike just seconds into the game, and she was a factor the rest of the night, too. Her speed and smarts made her a thorn in the Red Rangers' sides on the backcheck. She consistently broke up plays as Methuen/Tewksbury tried to exit the zone or regroup, using her skating to get into lanes. Sobol had some good rushes, too, breaking free the other way after forcing a turnover out high on the penalty kill in the second. In the third, she came away with the puck after a board battle and sped the other way in a 2-on-1 with Thibert. Her ability to force turnovers was on display on her goal as she stole the puck, sped by the defense and scored a pretty forehand-backhand finish.
Sammy Ryan
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2027, F, left shot
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.
Ryan was a force on the Red Rangers' top line alongside Duffy. She showed solid hands off the rush and down low in the offensive zone, and she was key to the second-period push, drawing a hook as she dangled into the slot on a fast break after blocking a shot out high. She was also instrumental in keeping the play alive in the scramble ahead of Duffy's goal, earning an assist, before forcing a turnover before Reardon's goal. Before Duffy's goal, Ryan made a fantastic setup for Annalise Blais, finding her all alone in the slot for a one-timer off the cycle. Ryan got rewarded in the third as she found open space at the right post, getting into a perfect spot to one-time a perfect pass from Chapman on the 4-on-3.
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Lauren Ryan
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2029, D, right shot
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.
Ryan played big minutes and used her size to her advantage, cutting off puck carriers, winning battles in the defensive zone and making effective poke checks in transition. She also set up some strong chances in the attacking end, including a tricky shot from the point through traffic in the first. It forced McEachern to make a good pad stop. In the second, Ryan made a fantastic setup for Duffy through a cross-ice seam from the right circle. It was a great job by Ryan to rotate into space toward the circle as Chapman walked the blue line.
Elise McEachern
Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell, Class of 2028, G, catches left
Hometown: Bedford, Mass.
McEachern will want Reardon's goal back, and the Rams weren't the same after that as things snowballed. But that shouldn't take away from just how good McEachern was through the first 40 minutes. She was fantastic, even with the Rams under a near-constant siege in their own end. She had Duffy's number, coming through with the glove on her bomb from the right dot in the first and robbing her several more times in the slot during the second. McEachern made the save of the game with larceny against Blais in the second as Sammy Ryan found her driving to the slot for a one-time blast. McEachern kicked out the right pad in a lightning-quick reaction and somehow denied her. She was the biggest reason that the Rams weren't trailing after the first two periods.
Olivia O'Brien
Shawsheen/Bedford/Lowell, Class of 2027, D, right shot
Hometown: Bedford, Mass.
O'Brien was one of a few Rams blue-liners to have solid sequences, along with Macy Savage and Ava Pollard-Garvey. O'Brien played with her head up when she had the puck, finding outlets, and she was fantastic on a penalty kill in the second. She had strong stick and body positioning, disrupting plays in transition and around the net and getting several clears. In the moment, it looked to be a pivotal kill to help swing momentum the other way before Methuen/Tewksbury eventually broke through.
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Maeve Burns
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2029, D, left shot
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.Â
Burns impressed in all three zones. She defended the rush with a strong stick and made some physical plays to knock forwards off the puck. In the first, she was critical on a few extended offensive sequences, working pucks high to low and being aggressive on pinches. It led to one quality chance as she pounced on a loose puck at the left circle. She later set up a good look in front, curling from the wall off a face-off and putting a good shot-pass into the slot. Burns did a good job of keeping shots low for tips.
Annalise Blais
Methuen/Tewksbury, Class of 2030, F, left shot
Hometown: Tewksbury, Mass.
Blais can move. She had a hell of an effort on the power play in the second, making up a ton of ground to win a footrace, which set up a strong sequence for the Red Rangers. The '11 had some strong looks toward the end of the second, too. McEachern absolutely robbed her one-timer from the slot as Blais found a lane and drove in with speed, getting into a perfect spot for the pass from Sammy Ryan. It came after another chance earlier when Blais pulled the puck free from a battle out high and drove to the middle for a bid.
