ATHOL — Grace Dufour found out her defensive assignment just moments before the game started on Tuesday afternoon.
With the Athol girls soccer team needing a win to secure a playoff spot, Dufour found out she had to mark Mahar’s Delaney Parker.
The move paid off and the Red Raiders beat the Senators, 1-0, in front of the exuberant home crowd.
“I didn’t really know until right before the game,” Dufour said.
Parker, who has 37 goals this season, got free for a couple chances, but for the most part Dufour’s defense kept her contained.
“She is a really big part of their team and we had to shut it down,” Dufour said. “We have the same kind of pace. I just tried to stick by her the whole game.”
A first-half goal by Ally Raymond was enough for the Red Raiders (9-9). The assist came from Shelby Mailloux, Athol’s lone senior who was honored before the game.
“I knew that if we could get one we could hold them off for the rest of the game,” Mailloux said. “We’re excited for the playoffs. I haven’t been in a while.”
Athol last played in the playoffs in 2015.
“This is pretty good team,” Athol coach Tim Cleveland said. “They showed that today. We knew that Delaney (Parker) hadn’t seen man to man that much if any. So I knew that would be a challenge for her.”
The Red Raiders used the lead to condense the muddy field and crowd the defensive end to take away open-field chances for the Senators.
“We had a different strategy,” Cleveland said. “We were lucky to score first. There were a couple scary moments but nothing overwhelming.”
When balls got through Hailey Wrigley (12 saves) made the necessary saves for Athol to preserve the lead.
The Senators (14-4) missed a chance to win a share of the Pioneer North championship after the loss.
“I’m very disheartened by the lack of urgency,” Mahar coach Chad Softic said. “You would have thought it was a scrimmage in the middle of August.”
Mahar’s defense allowed only three shots, with Marie Nottleson making two saves.
“We didn’t match Athol’s emotion or intensity to start the game,” Softic said. “Athol wanted it more than we did and it’s a credit to them.”
Throughout the season Parker has seen very little man-marking until Dufour shadowed her in the last regular season game for both teams.
“Great job,” Softic said. “We haven’t seen that all year. We have been waiting for it. She’s (Dufour) a good athlete and she’s tough. She was a presence for 80 minutes.”
Tournaments seeds will be released Wednesday.
Greenfield 20, Mahar 39; Hopkins 21, Mahar 40 — The Senators closed out their regular season with a home loss.
Thor Mead finished second overall with a time of 19 minutes, 5 seconds.
Ed Bennington was the next best Mahar runner, placing 12th (21:20).
