September 15, 2019
LYNN– Last Friday’s 6-3 win over St. Joseph Prep was a milestone for St. Mary’s girls soccer coach Jim Foley who captured his 250th career victory. Foley, a Swampscott native, is in his 21st season coaching the Spartans.
“It’s something I hoped for,” Foley said. “You wish for it and hope it happens but when it happens it’s very cool. When you’re a coach you want to get to something like this but you don’t know if you will. It’s a great accomplishment that comes with hard work. A lot of people don’t get to coach for 21 years or coach at the same place for 21 years. I’ve been very lucky. St. Mary’s is almost like a second home to me.”
Under Foley’s guidance the Spartans have qualified for the postseason in 18 years and won the Division 4 North sectional in 2015. But, Foley said, none of his success would be possible without the support from those in his corner.
“It’s a special feeling,” Foley said. “It comes with a lot of hard work but I’ve been lucky to work with some great people. I have a great athletic director (Jeff Newhall) and a great administration. The administration and the parents have always been supportive. I’ve had some great assistant coaches over the years. It’s a great feeling and to get 250 wins is a really cool thing.
“My family has been very supportive too. My wife is always around, my daughters and my mother when she was around. It’s definitely great to accomplish something like this when you have such great people around you.”
The Spartans are off to an ideal start this season. St. Mary’s, 4-0, kicked off the 2019 campaign with wins over Classical and English in the Lynn City Tournament, earning its fifth consecutive city crown in the process.
“We worked hard during the offseason and we worked hard in the preseason,” Foley said. “We knew that once we start the league part of the schedule it’s going to get tough. That’s why we wanted to get off to a good start. We wanted to carry some momentum into our league schedule. Hopefully it carries over. It’s a testament to the girls and how hard they work.”
Everything’s clicking for the Spartans thus far. Kayla Demers and Julia Nickolau have scored five goals each to lead the offense. Gaby Diaz has contributed with four goals.
“At times last season we relied way too much on Kayla scoring,” Foley said. “Julia has worked really hard. Gaby’s back and helping us out. Emily Egan’s playing very well. We have one of the best sweepers (Morgan Mackey) in the region. Susannah Cornell was a bit hurt to start the season but she’s coming back and it’ll be great to have her too.
“Our defense is great and locked in. Our center-mids are playing very well too.”
St. Mary’s has a big week ahead. The Spartans travel to Spellman Monday (3) and host Fenwick Wednesday (3:45).
“We’ve been snakebitten a little bit when we’ve played against them,” Foley said. “Fenwick’s sort of a measuring stick in our league, along with Spellman and Williams. Fenwick’s been very successful over the past couple years. This is a big week for us. Hopefully we can make a statement.”
By Harold Rivera