Clock strikes midnight for Cinderella Warriors

Boys’ soccer team’s improbable run ends in North final

Published in the November 16, 2015 edition.

By DAN BYRNE

LYNN — Manning Field in Lynn was the location where the Wakefield Memorial High School varsity boys’ soccer team met Swampscott yesterday in the Div. 3 North final. It was also the rubber match between the two squads which faced each other during the regular season with each team winning on its home field.

Wakefield took down Triton, Pentucket and Tewksbury en route to the final, while Swampscott took home wins over Burke and Wayland to reach the sectional final.

It was a brisk 11 a.m. kickoff as the 11th-seeded Warriors, who made the tournament by finishing second in the league, faced the fourth-seeded Big Blue who came in with a 14-3-3 record.

It was a back and forth contest that played out with a goalless first half. Two second half Swampscott goals put the Big Blue into the Eastern Mass. Final with a 2-0 victory over the Warriors.

The Warriors came out ready to play as head coach Matt Angelo had his team geared up for the biggest game of their lives.

“We were the 11 seed, nobody expected us to go to the finals,” Angelo said after the game. “I think these guys showed what their worth is with this run. I just told them they have nothing to put their heads down for. They should be so proud of the work they did.”

Swampscott applied pressure early but Wakefield goalie Zack Dascoli was up to the task. The Warriors pushed back and created some chances of their own.

Twenty minutes into the game, a golden opportunity presented itself to the Warriors. Juan Maysonet had been causing problems for the Big Blue defense from the first whistle and one of his balls made its way through the defense and onto the boot of Cole Krauss at the far post. His shot from 10 yards out was stopped masterfully by Swampscott goalie Will Green to keep the score level at 0-0.

Green and Dascoli were both in fine form for the final, combining for more than a dozen saves on the game. Despite some clear chances to score in the first 40 minutes the two sides went into the halftime break tied at 0-0.

Wakefield opened the second half with a play drawn up on the practice field as Maysonet kicked off and then took off down the field.

Mo Janga’s long ball over the top fell to the chest of Maysonet and he controlled the ball into a quick shot on goal. Green was able to stop the shot however as it didn’t have much power behind it.

Eight minutes into the second half, Swampscott was down the Wakefield end and turned a shot on goal which sent Dascoli sprawling full stretch to make the save and keep the score level.

Wakefield’s approach of sending ball long over the top seemed to be its  best option as the next chance came on another high ball through the air. Jon Ingalls was the recipient this time as the ball’s first bounce came high off the Manning Field turf and drifted toward the net. Ingalls popped up and headed the ball with a slight nod. It looked to be creeping just under the crossbar, when Green’s hand arrived at the very last second to punch it up over the bar and out for a corner kick.

The tide turned against Wakefield just over a quarter of an hour into the second half. A breakdown in defense allowed Jack Herlihy to walk in on goal. His one on one shot with Dascoli came out in favor of the Big Blue and the Warriors were trailing 1-0.

With the lead Swampscott was able to commit more players to defense allowing it tighten up at the back.

Wakefield pushed on. But when committing more to attack, sometimes a lapse in defense can occur and, with just over six minutes remaining, the second goal materialized and once again it was Swampscott celebrating. The Warriors had done a good job marking Danny Hingston all game but in the final 10 minutes Mike Coffee was able to pick out the target man for Swampscott, and Hingston made it 2-0.

That’s where the score stood a few minutes later when the final whistle blew, bringing an end to the Warriors unforeseen run to the Div. 3 North final. It was the first sectional final Wakefield played in since 1997.

“They did exactly what I asked them to. They went out and gave it everything they had. They left it all their energy on the field,” Angelo said. “I can tell by the way their limping off the field how hard they worked.”

Swampscott (15-3-3) advanced to the Div. 3 state semifinals and will face South champion Norton on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Manning Field.

Wakefield, meanwhile, finished the season with a 9-9-4 overall record.

“This is a very good Swampscott team. We know each other very well and I talked to their coach before the game and we both agreed that it would be the first team to break. That’s what its going to be,” said Angelo. “Unfortunately they got a nice little bounce to get that first goal in and we couldn’t pop one in. But we had plenty of chances.

“This was a hotly contested game. I’m sure it was a great game to watch. I was stressed out during it,” added the fourth-year head coach. “It could have easily been 2-0 Wakefield.”

Having success early in his coaching career hasn’t affected the ever-modest Angelo as he went on after the game about how hard his team worked, taking no credit of his own saying. “A lot of times the coach will get the credit but I have to pass it all off to the senior class for how hard they worked and the rest of the classes as well. These seniors came into a program where the year before they arrived the team’s record was 0-18.

“In four years, based on how hard they worked, they’re in the North finals. They didn’t get the win,” Angelo added. “But there’s something to be said for that they reached the North finals in 4 years. That’s a huge turnaround of a program.”

—–

MIAA Div. 3 North

Boys’ Soccer Tournament

Final Round

At Manning Field, Lynn

WAKEFIELD…………0  0 — 0

Swampscott…………0  2 — 2

—–

First Half — No Scoring.

Second Half — Swa, Herlihy (un.) 17:56. Swa, Hingston (Coffee) 34:57.

Saves — Wak, Dascoli (9). Swa, Green (8).