By MARC GAGNE
MELROSE — The Wakefield boys’ soccer team is currently 10-1-1 and is being recognized at every turn. Currently ranked No. 4 in Division 2, the Warriors were recently featured in a Boston Globe article; they have secured a spot in the playoffs; they’ve clinched the Freedom Division title and they won the Inspire Cup in a match against Stoneham on Monday night.
The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season on Oct. 7 to a talented Division 1 Lexington team. The Wakefield defense and goalie Kai Mercer were impressive in keeping the game scoreless until stoppage time when a Lexington player was able to head the ball into the goal off a corner kick so that the Minutemen won 1-0.
Following the Lexington game, the Warriors played a wild one against Melrose on the road Friday and squeaked by with their 9th win of the season, 4-3.
Jack Millward scored the first goal of the match after heading the ball in off a corner kick from Alex de Morais. Additional shots by Mhamed Boukataya, Nik Dhingra, Matt Keefe and Millward were promising but could not get past the Melrose keeper.
The next goal came minutes later when Charles Gagne booted one into the net. Minutes after that, Edgard Meneguello passed the ball right in front of the goal to Boukataya who buried a shot for Wakefield’s third goal of the game.
Later into the first half, Melrose got on the board with two quick goals. The first was the result of a nice pass to a Melrose player in front of the net. The second was a high shot that was almost handled by goalie Mercer, but it ultimately dribbled behind and a Melrose player was there to tap it in.
In the second half, Melrose got another goal similar to their first, with a nice pass in front of the Wakefield net to a Melrose player who kicked it past Mercer. Melrose fans and players were thrilled to have tied the game 3-3 against the highly-ranked Warriors.
The Warriors were not deterred, however, and de Morais ended up bringing the ball up the field late in the game, past a number of Melrose defenders, and getting a shot off the goalie. Then Millward, who had been racing up along the sideline, intercepted the deflection and sunk the winning goal for the Warriors.
On Monday night, Wakefield and Stoneham played for the Inspire Cup, a new tradition between the two teams, and Wakefield won the Cup off two goals scored by Millward. There were two successful penalty shots, one for each team, in this contest. Then Millward kicked a high shot over the Stoneham goalie’s head to seal the game for the Warriors, 2-1.
Wakefield travels to Burlington (5-8-2) today at 4:15 p.m.
The seniors will be recognized in a game at Landrigan Field against Swampscott (7-4-2) on Friday night. The game will kick off at 7:15 p.m. after the senior night ceremony.
THE WAKEFIELD High boys’ soccer team clinched their second consecutive Middlesex League Freedom Division title with recent wins over Melrose and Stoneham. The 10-1-1 Warriors are officially in the state tournament and are currently ranked No. 4 in Div. 2. (Courtesy Photo)
