St. Mary’s Kevin Perez chases down a loose ball. Photo by Bob Roche
By Harold Rivera
LYNN — For 62 minutes in Wednesday afternoon’s game at Manning Field, the St. Mary’s boys soccer team was deadlocked in a scoreless tie with Austin Prep, one of the more talented opponents in the Catholic Central League. Offensively the Spartans created a number of chances to get the ball in the net, but Austin Prep was strong on defense throughout the contest. In the 63rd minute, however, the Spartans finally found their spark.
Midfielder Thiago DeOliveira gave forward Olu George a picture-perfect through pass, as George sped past a pair of Cougars defenders. That allowed George to find himself in a one-on-one with Austin Prep goalkeeper Liam O’Donnell. George’s shot snuck through O’Donnell’s legs as he tried to make the save, and found the back of the net. That was all the scoring St. Mary’s needed in the contest, as the Spartans (5-1) held on for the 1-0 win.
“That play was huge,” St. Mary’s coach Mike D’Agostino recalled. “Olu just did what he had to do. He put the ball on frame and found the five-hole on the goalie, and that’s what needs to be done. I’ll take what I can get. It was a great pass from Thiago too, which is what set us up.”
The Spartans were sharp defensively, making the job easier for Richard Mateo, their goalkeeper. Mateo finished the afternoon with four saves in the win.
D’Agostino credited his team for a strong performance on defense.
“Our defense played solid,” D’Agostino said. “Nolan Perez and (senior captain) Christian Couillard played amazing for us in the back. My defense is building every game and getting stronger.”
He added, “Our defense played solid. They were winning 50-50 balls. Jose Del Valle, as a freshman, played awesome on the outside. All four of my defenders played well today.”
With the game scoreless at halftime, the Spartans looked to apply more pressure on the Cougars defense. St. Mary’s was able to do just that, as it maintained control of possession in the second half.
“I definitely liked the time of possession,” D’Agostino said. “We definitely did a good job of possessing and passing the ball around, using the whole field for the majority of the game. It only takes one to put the ball in the net to win and that’s all that matters.”
In the 53rd minute, forward Chris Garcia looked to put the Spartans on the board with a corner kick, but O’Donnell denied it for the save. Garcia tried again on a free kick in the 55th minute, but the forward’s shot sailed high over the crossbar.
Austin Prep’s best chance to find the net came in the 56th minute, when Cougars forward Ryan DiNapoli broke away from the St. Mary’s defense. DiNapoli’s shot flew over the crossbar, and the game remained scoreless.
After George’s goal in the 63rd minute, St. Mary’s looked to pad the lead on Perez’s free kick in the 67th minute, but his shot was too high. Garcia took a stab at another free kick in the 77th minute, but his shot went high as well.
St. Mary’s now moves forward to a slate of tough opponents next week in Archbishop Williams, Cardinal Spellman and Concord-Carlisle.
“We’re 5-1 so I’m very pleased with the way we’re playing,” D’Agostino said. “We have a very tough week ahead of us. Next week’s the hardest week I’ve ever had as a coach. We have three games against three very good teams in Spellman, Williams and Division 2 state champs Concord-Carlisle.”
St. Mary’s will visit Archbishop Williams on Monday at 3:30 p.m.