They also will see a post season. Melrose is 8-2 and has secured enough points to guarantee a spot in the Div. 2 playoff field. They are still highly ranked in Div. 2 power seedings, so don’t expect this engine to fizzle out any time soon.
Meanwhile, Melrose senior captain Parker Thornton has turned into marquee viewing for fans of the team. He is the runaway leading scorer for Melrose, and the league, and Melrose counted on his two goals against a historically tough Winchester in their 2-1 victory over the Red and Black at Fred Green Field in Melrose on Tuesday.
Melrose and Winchester battled evenly in the opening minutes of the game with Thornton getting a few shots on net that were just shy of scoring. Defensive efforts from Niall Gavin and Liam Gavin helped strip the ball away from Winchester. Melrose goalie Jay Vogan had a critical save at 34:53 that persevered the first half shutout.
Melrose capitalized on a corner kick by Rory Coyne, who fed the ball to Parker Thornton who hit a header into the net at 21:53 to give Melrose a crucial early lead of 1-0.
Melrose held the lead going into halftime and would score again halfway through the second when Thornton once again found the net on a solo shot that gave Melrose a 2-0 lead. Winchester would eventually score in the final frame but it wasn’t enough to erase Melrose’s 2-1 winning score.
The victory comes on the heels of the team’s 4-1 loss to Reading last week, Melrose’s second loss of the season.
On tap next is Lexington on Wednesday (post deadline) before Melrose starts one more round of Middlesex Freedom play, including a Monday afternoon home game at the West Knoll against Stoneham at 4:30. Should Melrose sweep the league (again) they might be looking at a 14 win season prior to playoffs.
Stay tuned.
Middlesex
Freedom League Standings
Team/League/Overall
Melrose 5-0/8-2
Stoneham 2-1-1/3-5-2
Wakefield 2-1-1/3-5-2
Watertown 1-1-1/ 3-3-4
Burlington 1-3-0/3-3-4
Wilmington 0-4/0-9-1
