Wayland ends Melrose’s strong season, 1-0
Published November 9, 2018
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose Red Raider soccer team saw their playoff run end in the opening round of the Div. 3 North playoffs when they fell to Wayland (10-3-4) in a 1-0 heartbreaker at Wayland High School on Friday, Nov. 6. Melrose (11th seeded) finishes their season with their third straight playoff appearance.
The deciding goal was scored by Wayland senior Mateo Norian two minutes into the game and Warrior goalie Nick Smith held Melrose scoreless at the net for a shutout. Wayland proved as speedy as Melrose and backs Jake Tyska, Eric Greene, and Ben Johnson were tough to get by. And while Melrose had a few chances at scoring after the early goal, ultimately they came up short.
Melrose head coach Dean Serino spoke of his team’s effort after the game. “They scored two minutes into the game and we called a timeout out and changed things up, but Wayland played really well. This is a good team who could go all the way.”
GOALIE ETHAN Peete was instrumental getting Melrose to playoffs, but his Red Raiders fell to Wayland 1-0 in the opening round of the D3 North postseason last week. (Donna Larsson photo)
Melrose saw some near goals by Miguel Contreras and Rob Weisen during the contest. “We had some good opportunities in the first half and some in the second half,” said the coach. “We served balls in the box but came up empty.”
At the net, Melrose senior Ethan Peete put up a valiant effort. “There was nothing he could do about that shot. And I credit his effort this season. What’s great about Ethan is he is the most unselfish player. He could have played anywhere this season, but he took on the goalie role his senior year to help us. And it helped get us to playoffs. He really is the epitome of what it means to be a Melrose soccer player.”
He also lauded the entire team’s effort. “Our players, especially our seniors, rose to the occasion. They did the right things, played solid defense and played as hard as they could. This was just a tough team to compete against.”
This year Melrose loses thirteen seniors—Mike Tormo, Ben McNeely, Connor Mancni, Patrick Maher, Fabrice Francois, Miguel Contreras, Kamar Cesar-Elivert, Daniel Bouvier, Anthony Billion and Gil Aguilar—all players that Serino deeply admires. “I’m incredibly proud of them, they’re great role models. They represented Melrose well, showed great character and put their stamp on the program as members of this soccer family.”
In the meantime, Melrose maintains a slew of talented underclassmen that Serino is excited about: Rob Wiesen, John Lecompte, Jack O Hara, Tom Bergin, Parker Thornton, Tarekegn O’Neill, Cam Rostov, Matt Lynch and Redouane Drif. Many of these players are not only starters but real playmakers.
“This year our underclassmen hit the ground running,” says Serino. “You have to gain that experience on varsity and they have it now. Many of these guys are starters. This puts us in good shape in the next few years.”
That means for Red Raider fans, seeing Melrose in a tourney bracket is no longer a random thing. Serino, over the course of several years, has built a program that carries with it the expectation of winning. It certainly has the talent each season.
“This team knows what is expected of them next year and what is means to be a Melrose soccer player,” he says. “They understand that the offseason is where the magic happens. This program has what it takes to keep Melrose High playing great soccer. The future is definitely bright.”
