Conclude historic season for Wakefield soccer

Published in the November 14, 2019 edition.

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

LYNN — Wakefield boys’ soccer’s magical run came to end last night against Concord-Carlisle on the frozen tundra of Manning Field during the Div. 2 North semifinals.

The Patriots, displaying the same type of speed, organization and competitiveness that helped them topple top-seeded North Andover in the quarterfinal round, were just too much for Wakefield to handle as they scored three goals in the first half and cruised to a 4-0 victory.

“Despite the rigid temperature, the event itself was amazing,” said Wakefield head coach Ilir Ujkaj. “The venue, the importance of the Div. 2 North semifinal and the historic parallel as Wakefield played CC in the semifinals 21 years ago, mad it an unforgettable experience for the team and also for myself.”

Wakefield hung with Concord-Carlisle for the first 25 minutes or so, even after the Patriots got on the board just seven minutes in.

Levi Pierce was a problem all night for the Warrior defense, his speed unlike anything they’ve seen all year. The senior got some space out wide on the left side and carried closer to box before playing a perfect cross to Darren Roberts who had an easy finish for the first goal.

Wakefield responded well, doing their best to push into Patriot territory. Matt Sellers had a nice diving stop with about 24 minutes to play and a more even battle for possession took place until Wakefield called a timeout with 15 minutes left.

The break seemed to only help the Patriots who returned to their makeshift, heated-tent chateau on the sidelines while the Warriors were roughing it in the low-20 degree weather.

Concord-Carlisle were a different team after the break, a relentless push leading to their second goal with 13:38 showing on the scoreboard. The initial shot from Ben Santos was stopped by Sellers, but Nick Santos gobbled up the rebound and gave the Patriots a 2-0 lead.

The No. 9 seed struck while the irons were hot just over one minute later, when Pierce made a lightning-quick run and Ben Santos found him on a perfect through ball. It was again a quality finish with nothing Sellers could do.

“We were excited coming in to this game but also cautious knowing that we were going against one of the best team in Div. 2 during this last decade,” said Ujkaj. “Concord-Carlisle played very well and fully deserved to win.”

As both teams retreated to the locker rooms while the fans cleaned out Manning’s hot chocolate stock, the Warriors were facing a 3-0 deficit with every reason to go through the motions and get back home.

Instead, Wakefield flew into the second half with a new type of passion and energy. Captain John Summers, who battled until the end, got a shot off early as the Warriors focused on trying to finally test Concord-Carlisle’s freshman goalie Ben Brown.

Joao Valdevino earned some tough wins in the midfield and Wakefield got a couple of good chances as they thoroughly outplayed the Patriots in the first 15 minutes of the second half.

“We tried something different in the second half and it did work out for a little bit but the game was already compromised and the teams’ values on the field were heavily in Concord-Carlisle’s favor,” said Ujkaj.

The Patriots settled in after that, getting back to their well-organized, possession-based control. Sellers made a few great saves in the second, including a spectacular, sliding, one-handed deflection.

As the clock slowly ticked down on Wakefield (and mild autumn nights everywhere), Ujkaj turned to his bench and let everyone get a chance to experience a stage not many players get to see.

“Once I got the feeling that the game was heading towards a Concord-Carlisle victory, then I decided to have every single varsity player get on the field,” said Ujkaj.

Even senior Zach Fiore, last year’s starting keeper who was injured in June, went in for the final three minutes.

“I wanted every kid to have this memory with them for the rest of their life,” said Ujkaj. “As a coach, going out of the tournament without regrets was a small award.”

In the end, the memories of a strong season and especially the program’s first Div. 2 tournament victories in decades, will always remain.

“Looking at the season as a whole I am amazed and emotional,” said Ujkaj. “We knew we had potential when we started, we knew that this could be the year but we never talked about it loudly it was just in the back of our minds that something good might happen.

“Halfway through the season we were already at .500. At that point, what we were once considering a dream had become a clear goal for us: get into the tournament. We dreamed, we played hard and we made it. It was an incredible achievement for the team.”

Making the tournament, and then Wakefield’s overtime 1-0 victory over Shawsheen was enough for most Warrior soccer fans to be thrilled.

Follow that up with a 3-1 victory on Central Catholic’s home field in the quarterfinals, and the WMHS boys’ soccer team, as they stood on Manning Field last night, knew they had accomplished something nobody believed they could; except maybe themselves.

“The two tournament games against Shawsheen and Central were unbelievable,” said Ujkaj. “Not just the wins but especially the way they were achieved. The Central game is one of those that I will never forget. The atmosphere, the fans (over 200), the night, the win will make that game indelible for me.

“Thank you and congrats to the boys that made this happen and also their parents for their support.”