THE DEFENSE, including Brian Purcell (12), Matthew Keefe (21) and Sean Hogan (00), continues to shut down opponents. The Warriors have allowed exactly 1 goal per game this season and have racked up five shutouts. Purcell scored Wakefield’s first goal in their 2-1 win over Stoneham on Wednesday. (File Photo)
By MARC GAGNE
WAKEFIELD — As Wakefield boys’ soccer captain Nemo Rizk stated, it was “an unusual game,” versus Stoneham last Wednesday at Mullen Field but the Warriors had some luck come their way on a Spartan own goal in stoppage time, leading to a 2-1 win.
Wakefield controlled the ball well in the first half, with good dribbling, crosses and shots from Rizk and Darragh Casey, along with great defensive plays made by JJ Faulkner, Matt Keefe and Frankie Leone, and multiple saves made by goalie Sean Hogan.
Wakefield had a chance to put the first tally up on the scoreboard on a free kick taken by Leone that Ethan Margolis attempted to head in, but the ball just missed the net. After this, a Stoneham free kick was defended well by Reid Festel and shots were taken by Lucas Kehoe and Casey.
Another chance for Wakefield occurred when Margolis crossed the ball into the box, but it went just over Rizk’s head. On another corner kick taken by Rizk, Elias Anjim got his head on the ball but missed the goal to the right. This was followed up by another shot from Anjim and a shot from Rizk. Powerful shots continued to be made by players such as Rizk, Festel and Kehoe.
Multiple corner kicks were taken by Rizk which provided chances for Wakefield, especially when Anjim headed the ball and it hit the crossbar and Faulkner headed the ball just to the left of the goal.
With two minutes left in the first half, the first goal was scored by Stoneham after it was accidentally headed in by a Wakefield player who was trying to pass the ball back to Hogan. The players then broke for halftime with Stoneham up 1-0.
MATT ANGELO, head coach of the Warriors and a Wakefield soccer alum, will host the team’s first alumni and youth soccer night tomorrow, 6 p.m. at Walton Field. (File Photo)
In the second half, Rizk nearly tied the score when taking a penalty kick after a handball was called against Stoneham. Rizk’s shot just missed by hitting the crossbar. Offensive threats continued with shots from Keefe, Margolis, Festel, Rizk, Kehoe and Marc Laverdiere and the defense kept Wakefield in reach with plays made by Brian Purcell, Faulkner, Laverdiere, Festel, Margolis and Keefe.
Late in the second half, Wakefield tied the game 1-1 on a corner kick taken by Rizk, when the ball bounced around in front of the goal many times and was poked into the net by Purcell.
Numerous Wakefield players kept up the pressure making shots on goal, trying to gain the lead. Then Wakefield did take the lead with one minute left in the game when Rizk crossed the ball into the box and it was accidentally headed past the Stoneham goalie by a Stoneham player to the excitement of the Wakefield players and the crowd.
SENIOR CAPTAIN Lucas Kehoe and the Wakefield High boys’ soccer team have been flying by opponents. The Warriors haven’t lost since Sept. 22 and were ranked 8th in the latest Div. 2 power rankings. Wakefield will host Watertown on Wednesday and Everett on Friday for their final two regular season games. (File Photo)
Reflecting further on the game, Rizk said, “We were very lucky for the ball to drop perfectly for us to score with about 5 minutes left. Once the first one went in, the belief rose as high as it could and we were blessed with a winning goal scored by our opponents in their own goal. The jubilation and relief knowing what is on the line and what we want to accomplish as a team was enormous. Such a huge win for our tournament standings against a team we consider one of our rivals.”
The Warriors are on a roll, having not lost since Stoneham came away with a 1-0 victory in their first meeting back on Sept. 22.
Wakefield (8-2-6) topped Burlington 3-0 at home last night. It was also Senior Night for the team. A full story will appear at a later date.
Wakefield will host Watertown in the program’s first youth soccer and alumni night on Wednesday at 6 p.m. Their final game of the regular season is set for this Friday, 4:30 p.m. against Everett. The Warriors were ranked 8th in the MIAA’s latest Div. 2 power rankings. That would set the team up for a home playoff game in the first round of the D2 tournament.
