The 2010 Ludlow Lady Lions soccer team had a rough finish to their season as they lost to Chicopee 2 – 1 in overtime in the opening round of the playoffs. This year, with some returning starting players plus a few new ones, the Lady Lions look to bounce back in a positive way.

They opened their season at home to the East Longmeadow Spartans. Two minutes into the game, sophomore Alyssa Martins chipped the ball over the Spartan goalkeeper to give Ludlow the 1 – 0 lead. With the team fired up, senior captain Kaitlyn Coelho put one in the back of the net just three minutes after Martins gave them the lead.

Now confidently playing with a two-goal lead, the Lions just had to keep the ball out of their own net and the win would be theirs. The Lions finished the half with their lead in tact and looked to bring that momentum into the second half.

Unfortunately, the Spartans started to gain their own momentum as they scored a goal to cut the lead in half. With the pressure on, the intensity of the game was at a high level. With only a minute remaining, the Spartans kept kicking until they tied the game up at two.

It was a disappointing tie for the Lady Lions, and their next game against rival Minnechaug was no easier.

With 28 minutes remaining in a scoreless game, senior Kaycee Pereira scored to give the Lions the lead with an assist by junior Jessica Pashko. The game continued to go back and forth until Minnechaug tied it up with 13 minutes on te clock.

From there on, the Lions applied pressure but couldn’t take the lead back, and finished with yet another tie. The Lions face Cathedral on Wednesday and look to finally get a “W” on the board.