Westport beats Durfee 4-3, gains tournament
Veracka hattrick tops Durfee in comeback victory
Story and photos by Richard W. Dionne, Jr.
Posted 10/29/25
Lily Veracka scored three goals for Westport as the girls' soccer team came back to beat a pesky Durfee team 4-3 during a non-league home game on Tuesday afternoon. The win boosts the youthful Wildcats into the playoffs for the third season in a row.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
Please log in to continue |
Register to post eventsIf you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here. Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content. |
Day pass subscribers
Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.
Westport beats Durfee 4-3, gains tournament
Veracka hattrick tops Durfee in comeback victory
Jackie Jusseaume (left) celebrates with teammates Isabella Kryzszton (middle) and Julia Raposo after scoring Westport's second goal of the game to knot it 2-2.
Julia Raposo dribbles up-field during a Westport attack.
Jackie Jusseaume scores off a 30-yard kick.
Jackie Jusseaume celebrates after scoring Westport's second goal.
Midfielder Jackie Jusseaume vies for the ball with a Durfee defender.
Forward Lily Veracka plays a throw in during the game.
Isabella Kryzszton throws the ball into play for the Wildcats in the first half.
Freshman phenom Lily Veracka blasts a shot on goal during Westport's 4-3 victory over Durfee on Tuesday afternoon. Veracka's scored a hattrick and currently has scored 30 goals this season and 80 goals for her career thus far.
Posted
Lily Veracka scored three goals for Westport as the girls' soccer team came back to beat a pesky Durfee team 4-3 during a non-league home game on Tuesday afternoon. The win boosts the youthful Wildcats into the playoffs for the third season in a row.
Veracka's hattrick gives the freshman 30 goals for the season and 80 goals for her career thus far. The highly skilled forward scored 22 goals as a 7th grader and 23 more as an 8th grader.
"Lily is many things," said Wildcats head coach Gary Muello, adding, "She's brave, driven, athletic, resilient, quick, crafty, tough and can be very funny and close to her teammates. I can't believe, she's just a 9th grader."
Wildcats down 2-0 in first half
Westport found themselves down 2-0 in the first half, before Veracka woke the Wildcats up from their slumber. The freshman phenom booted a 25-yard direct-kick, over the Durfee wall and the head of the goalkeeper, into the left top-corner of the goal to cut the lead to 2-1.
Minutes later, Forward Julia Raposo dribbling the ball towards the right corner of the offensive zone, put on the breaks and slid a pass back to junior midfielder Jackie Jusseaume and she one-timed a 30-yard bomb over the head of the keeper and into the back of the goal to knot the score at 2-2.
Westport scored their third straight goal when Veracka stole the ball from a Durfee defender and dribbled into the left corner of the field. She made a quick inside-out move to deke the defender and blasted a right-footed shot, over the head of the keeper, into the right-corner of the goal, to give Westport a 3-2 lead.
Veracka scored her third goal in the second half, booting a ball off a defender and into the goal to give the Wildcats a 4-2 lead.
Durfee scores to cut the lead 4-3
The Durfee offense scored on Westport junior goalkeeper Morgan Pacheco to cut the lead to 4-3 with two minutes left, for an uncomfortable end to the game. But Pacheco (6 saves) and the Westport defense closed the game out.
The 48th ranked Wildcats in D-4, will likely receive an away game, when the brackets come out later this week. It will be third season in a row for Coach Muello's crew to play in the tournament.
