Finally taking the field with a full complement of players after dealing with injuries to several starters during a brutal six-game stretch to start the season, the Newton North girls soccer team again played giant killer yesterday, shutting out defending Division 1 state champion Braintree, 1-0, at home.

Michelle Kielty, one of several Tigers who’d missed time due to injury, knocked in a redirected ball in the box in the 31st minute for the game’s only tally as North toppled a team entered the game ranked 23rd nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and had lost only once in the past 28 games dating back to the beginning of last year.

It was North’s second victory over an NSCAA top-25 team after beating five-time defending Rhode Island state champion LaSalle Academy (No. 6 before losing to North) in sudden death overtime, 2-1, earlier this month.

"Great composure," said North coach Brian Rooney of Kielty. "She played sweeper for us last year, which has led her into that center-back position and she was excellent today, as was the rest of the back."

For much of the first half, North controlled the possession, threatening the Braintree net while also keeping the ball away from Wamp senior Amy Caldwell, the consensus best player in the Bay State Conference who was also featured in the Sept. 11 issue of Sports Illustrated. Though Caldwell, who orally committed to Boston College in May, had a pair of bids in the second half, North held her in check, collapsing on her to prevent a repeat of the last meeting between the two teams when the Wamp star caught up to a loose ball on a breakaway and knocked it in to lift Braintree to a 1-0 victory.

The Tigers had learned their lesson after a 2-1 loss to Framingham in a rematch of last year’s Division 1 North final last Thursday when Flyer sniper Melanie Baskind facilitated both goals in the victory.

"We didn’t say ’Hey, mark this player,’ because then you get so out of your normal situation," said Rooney of the strategy to lock down Caldwell. "But the commitment we had with Caldwell was that no matter what, she’s not going to beat us. Everybody knows she’s the best player in the league. If someone else steps up and gets the goal, then we live with that.

"We allowed Baskind to create two amazing chances, which was discouraging to us because we knew she was their best player and we gave her too much space. So that’s what we stressed today, make sure she’s covered, and if something else breaks down and someone else is open and gets the opportunity, so be it."

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