Watertown Boys Soccer remains undefeated through 13 games of their 18-game regular season schedule after a well-deserved win against Division 3 rival St.Mary’s.
Watertown has met up with their Lynn foes many a time over recent years in many sports, regular season and postseason. St.Mary’s always brings it, and they brought it (a physical style of play) to the pitch this evening. While it took Watertown awhile to match the physicality in the first half, eventually the Raiders came to life and answered the bell. And once answered, they never backed down, and essentially won by TKO with 13 minutes left in the game when Pietro Marques took a Gavin Foley corner kick and headed it into the net to make it 4-2.
To get to that score though took time. St.Mary’s scored first eight minutes in to make it 1-0. A series of passes and ball-reversals led to a perfect feed and a goal that Declan Chapron had no chance to save. But by midway through the first half Watertown started to find it’s game, and came oh so close to tying it off a Gavin Foley shot that hit the post. Co-Captain Aidan Anker had the rebound on his right foot, and an empty net, to make it a 1-1 game. If this game had ended differently, Anker might be having nightmares, because the ball squibbed off his foot and wide of the empty net. Trust me though, Anker made up for it the rest of the game.
At 13:37 Anker forced the play with some fine moves, strength and determination, and was ultimately taken down in the penalty area, and a penalty shot was awarded. It took awhile for Anker to get to his feet, and he left the game temporarily while Foley potted the penalty shot low and inside the right post to make it 1-1. Unofficial assist to Anker on the goal. Foley made it 2-1 on a second penalty shot which was awarded during stoppage time. Foley once again went to the goalkeeper’s right, but this time high and perfectly placed to the top right corner of the goal. Score: 2-1 Raiders at the half.
St.Mary’s controlled the play over the first 10 minutes of the second half. St.Mary’s earned a couple of corner kicks, their first ones of the night, and came close to tying the game, which they eventually did at 31:44 when a tweener ball had Raider’s goalie Chapron being a smidge indecisive. That indecisiveness led him to colliding ever so slightly with his own player Marques and the ball found it’s way to a St.Mary’s player with an open net to tie it at 2.
But as they often do, Watertown regrouped and started imposing their will again. And at 20:22 Gavin Foley did what he does best- score. An innocent enough possession turned suddenly into a scoring chance, and Foley wasted no time from the 35 yard line sending a laser to the top right corner to make it 3-2 Raiders. Feeling like the game was theirs for the taking, seven minutes later Marques’s header took the air out of the ball of St.Mary’s. Final Score, Watertown 4, St.Mary’s 2.
Coach Cacia ran a pretty tight ship on this night, subbing infrequently. The starting lineup included Shrestha, Foley, Anker, Hughes, Kurth, Alves, Galeano, Salvi, Brennock, Shea and Chapron in goal. Marques, Tonyan and Coronado were the only other Raiders that I saw make it onto the pitch on this night. As always, a team effort has this group piecing together a special season. At 6-0-7 overall, and 4-0-2 and in first place in the Freedom Division of the Middlesex League, Watertown has five games remaining, including a match Wednesday in Arlington with the 11th-ranked Spy Ponders.
But tonight was about a quality non-league win, and officially qualifying for the D3 tournament to begin in three weeks. Congratulations to Watertown Boys Soccer! Next up, a 10 a.m. match with Burlington on Monday October 13 at the Grove Street Field. After Wednesday’s game at Arlington, Boys Soccer will take on Wilmington at Victory Field on Saturday October 18 at 6 P.M., also known as Senior Night.
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Scoring Summary
1st Half
St.Mary’s 1 Watertown 0… Goal at 32:05
St.Mary’s 1 Watertown 1… Gavin Foley, Penalty Shot Goal @ 13:37
Watertown 2 St.Mary’s 1… Gavin Foley, Penalty Shot Goal @ Stoppage Time
2nd Half
Watertown 2 St.Mary’s 2… Goal @ 31:44
Watertown 3 St.Mary’s 2… Gavin Foley Goal @ 20:22
Watertown 4 St.Mary’s 2… Pietro Marques Goal @ 13:38
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1 2 F
St.Mary’s 1 1 2
Watertown 2 2 4