Winchester’s Favorito stepping forward as scorer for Middlebury soccer

By Maureen Mullen | GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

Julia Favorito was in a lab class when the congratulatory text messages began arriving.

“We were over in Royalton doing a structural geology lab,” said Favorito (inset), a geology major and a senior captain of the women’s soccer team at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Favorito earned Player of the Week honors from the NESCAC for the first time after two terrific performances.The first text came from the mother of Panther teammate Scarlett Kirk , said Favorito, a graduate of Winchester High School.

“So it was a lot of fun coming back to all the text messages of congratulations. I know that my whole team is behind me and they were really happy for me, so that was great.”

In Saturday’s 2-1 win over Bowdoin, Favorito scored both goals. On Sept. 17, in a 10-0 blanking of Norwich, she registered three assists, tying her for third in program history (18 for her career).

“[W]hen we hear that a Middlebury player got NESCAC Player of the Week it kind of reflects on the whole team,” Favorito said. “So that’s really nice.

“I’m not usually the goal scorer, so getting this kind of honor is really cool for me. I’m glad that I’ve become an attacking player this year and I’ve sort of moved to being a goal scorer as well as someone who makes plays for other people.”

Favorito leads the NESCAC, averaging .80 assists per game, which has been more her style as a center-midfielder entering this season.

“Yeah, a lot of times I’m in the position to set up people, forwards,” she said. “But my coach [Peter Kim ] has asked me to go to the next level and take shots. So I’m working toward that this season.”

“Julia’s been such a creator and mainstay for us for many years,” said Kim of the 5-foot-2 Favorito, a four-year varsity player. “But she hasn’t always posted the statistics that would make her a candidate for an award like this. So for her to rise to the occasion and score such important goals and the assists earlier in the week I think speaks to her fortitude and ability.

“She has unique abilities with the ball at her feet. But unlike so many other creative players, she’s one of the hardest working players on the team.”

One of Favorito’s goals coming into the season has been to lead the Middlebury attack more than she has in past.

Entering the week, she led the league with four assists and was tied for second with eight points, one behind Kirk, in five overall games, helping the Panthers to a 3-1-1 mark (2-1-1 NESCAC).

After dropping the season opener to Amherst, 1-0 in overtime, then tying Keene State, Middlebury ripped off three wins.

With freshmen making up a third of the roster, the Panthers are still working to find their identity.

“I think we are still finding our style of play and we’ve been doing it more consistently. I hope that progresses,” Favorito said. “In terms of my play, I hope that the scoring aspect continues, and that I’m still a large part of the attack throughout the season.”

Here and there:

Georgetown High grad Chris Esposito , a senior linebacker at Stonehill, registered a career-high 10 tackles in a 41-38 Northeast-10 overtime win over Assumption. . . . Freshman wideout Justin Mount (Westford Academy) hauled in a touchdown reception for the second straight game for Merrimack in a 34-40 loss at Southern Connecticut. TeammateQuinn McDonough (Malden Catholic/Medford) racked up 171 yards on six kickoff returns, with a long gain of 55 yards. He was named the NE-10 Special Teams Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks. . . . Stephanie Morrisonanchored a Salem State defensive unit that did not allow a goal in a pair of field hockey matches last week. The senior defender from Beverly was chosen as the Defensive Player of the Week by the Little East Conference.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2013/09/25/winchester-julia-favorito-stepping-forward-scorer-for-middlebury-soccer/Wo4lKKjBFBA4MlCIHW2ztI/story.html