MHS’ JOVAN Ssebugwawom has become a leading scorer for the unbeaten MHS boy’s soccer team. (photo by Raj Das, edphotos.com)
Talented team takes wins over Woburn, Belmont
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High boys’ varsity soccer team is picking up where they left off last season by taking two key wins over Middlesex large teams, Woburn and Belmont, in the opening week of play.
Melrose started their winning streak with an overwhelming 6-1 win over Woburn at home on Thursday, Sept 8. There was an abundance of scoring and everyone played a part. Finding the net for Melrose was Joey Beshel, Russell O’Donnell, Amir Lahkiky, Jovan Ssebugwawom and Nick Thermemos.
They followed that up with an impressive 2-0 road win over Belmont on Monday afternoon. It was a scoreless draw for most of the game with tremendous defense from center backs Ian Smith, Sam O’Donnell, and on the outside backs Dan Muller and Rory Coyne.
According to head coach Dean Serino, Melrose brought a real physical game against a thirsty Belmont team. “We had beaten them last year and I think they came amped up So we had to bring everything we had. It was a tough game and the refs let us play. I thought we moved the ball well and our defense was great. We cleared the ball a lot and wore them down.”
With no score on the board for the first half, Melrose finally struck first with 15 minutes to go thanks to Jovan Ssebugwawom. Making it a 2-0 game was Nick Thermemos. Earning a shutout at the net was Aiden Hepler, who also manned the net against Woburn before sharing net duties with Matteo Alzate.
Melrose hopes to continue their winning streak when they host Reading on Wednesday (post deadline) before they travel to Watertown on Friday evening.
Notes Serino, “We’ll have no easy games this fall. And we have a target on our back. If we just continue to execute, we’ll get the job done. This team plays with great joy and love this game. It shows on the field.”
