Warriors finish strong, post 5-2 win over Swampscott
ANDREW AULD, a junior (#25), fends off a Melrose player during a recent game which Wakefield won, 5-2. In the back are Neil Fitzgerald (#10) and Mo Jenga (#18). The Warriors also posted a 5-2 triumph yesterday afternoon against Swampscott in the regular season finale at Swampscott High School. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
SWAMPSCOTT — There was no letdown for the Wakefield Memorial High boys’ soccer team.
After clinching its first state tournament berth since 1999, the Warriors finished the regular season strong as it posted a 5-2 triumph over Swampscott in a non-league game played at Swampscott High School.
Wakefield finished the regular season with an 8-6-4 overall record (6-6-4 in the Middlesex League Freedom division) and completed a season sweep over the Big Blue. Wakefield routed Swampscott by a 4-0 score in the first meeting at Walton Field.
Wakefield came out strong and had many scoring chances early in the game. That was despite the field being in tough shape, especially near the goals. It took Wakefield some time to adjust to the conditions.
Wakefield’s game plan was to pressure Swampscott’s defense to cause a turnover. It was something that worked for the Warriors the first time they played the Big Blue. That game plan worked again as a Swampscott player misplayed a ball back to his keeper resulting in an own goal putting Swampscott down 1-0.
Wakefield earned its second goal by Kyle Geaney scoring off a header from a cross.
Wakefield kept the pressure on when Neil Fitzgerald put in the third goal of the game to put the Warriors up 3-0.
“We executed our offense today. We were fast up the field and we attacked the space weak side,” said Angelo.
Swampscott came back by scoring off a corner to cut the lead to 3-1.
The Warriors responded again in the second half when Fitzgerald scored his second goal of the day by volleying a ball off a rebound.
Swampscott scored off a free kick set play for its second goal of the contest.
Wakefield put the game away when Ben Clark scored his first varsity goal of the season putting Wakefield up 5-2.
“Overall I’m happy with today’s result. It’s pretty tough not to be excited when we scored five. That’s not easy to to against anyone,” said Angelo.
Anglo and the Warriors are now looking forward to the state tourney. The pairings are being done on Friday.
“We reached our goal by qualifying for the tournament. This team has worked so hard day in and day out,” said Angelo. “Tomorrow (Tuesday) we will have a fun practice and celebrate our regular season work. They deserve a break and time to relax. Wednesday we will get back to work and focus on improving before the first tournament game.
“We are confident against any team. The Middlesex League was so competitive this year,” continued Angelo.”(This is the) Toughest I’ve seen it in a long time. Eight out of 12 teams qualified and there were a couple that didn’t that are tournament caliber. We had to really earn every point.
“Simply reaching the tournament isn’t good enough now,” concluded Angelo. “We expect to make a run and surprise a lot of people.”
Wakefield finished the regular season with 41 goals scored and 22 goals against.
