LEADING SCORER Jack Millward (right), Mhamed Boukataya (left) and the Warriors will try to beat a strong, Billerica defense tonight at Landrigan Field. (Dan Pawlowski Photo)
WAKEFIELD — The top-ranked Wakefield High boys’ soccer team is set to host a Round of 16 matchup with No. 17 Billerica tonight, 5 p.m. at Landrigan Field.
The Warriors enter the game with an overall record of 16-2-1. They defeated No. 32 Silver Lake in the first round, 3-2 on Tuesday night. Wakefield broke a 2-2 tie with eight minutes left on a Charles Gagne header goal off a corner kick from Matt Keefe.
Billerica comes to Wakefield with an overall record of 12-5-2. They defeated No. 16 Westwood in penalty kicks in a first round matchup on Monday night. Senior goalkeeper Riley Donovan saved a penalty and then won it by burying the next shot. The two teams were tied 1-1 through 80 minutes and then overtime to force penalty kicks.
A consistently strong program, Billerica earned the No. 2 seed in the Div. 2 tournament last season. They advanced to the quarterfinals before falling to No. 7 Melrose, 3-1.
Wakefield is coming off a trip to the Div. 2 State Championship game last year where they fell to Oliver Ames 1-0 in overtime. This year, the Warriors earned the No. 1 seed and a Middlesex League title with their phenomenal 15-2-1 regular season schedule.
The winner of tonight’s game will move on to the D2 Quarterfinals where they will meet No. 9 Revere (14-2-2). The Patriots beat No. 24 East Longmeadow 2-1 in the opening round before knocking off No. 8 Bedford 2-1 in penalty kicks last night.
If Wakefield can beat Billerica tonight, they would host Revere in the Quarterfinals, date and time to be announced.
