LYNNFIELD– In a battle between two of the better squads in the Cape Ann League, the Lynnfield boys soccer team found itself being outplayed after one half of Monday’s game against Manchester-Essex. Once the Pioneers gained momentum and found their footing, they started playing like themselves again.
Pioneers co-captains Jonathan Luders and Nathan Bass each scored a goal in the second half to push Lynnfield past Manchester-Essex in a 2-0 win at Pioneer Stadium.
“I felt that we came out with a little more energy (in the second half),” Pioneers coach Brent Munroe said. “We were a bit tentative in the first half. They passed the ball really well. I think that was difficult for us. We were on our back foot a little bit. In the second half we went out and pushed forward.”
Lynnfield goalie Jack Campbell made five saves for the shutout win in net. Defensively, Munroe said his Pioneers were led by a positive effort from his backline which consists of Matthew Juliano, Michael Gentile, David Gentile and Luke Martinho.
There wasn’t much to highlight during the first half, though the Pioneers did have their share of chances at putting in the game’s first goal. Luders, who made plays all over the field from the opening whistle, sent a nifty pass to Thomas Hauser with 8:17 remaining in the half. Hauser’s shot just missed the outside corner and the game remained scoreless. Max Sieger sent a near-perfect pass across the field toward the Manchester-Essex goal but the ball didn’t find a Lynnfield foot and the Hornets dodged another bullet under the 2:00 mark. Both teams were scoreless at halftime.
“I thought they outplayed us (in the first half),” Munroe said. “We were trying to pressure them high and they were passing the ball really well so it was hard for us to pressure them. The second half, we didn’t do much different. I think we just got them to turn the ball over in some areas where we could capitalize.”
After Bass missed on a close header to start the second half, Lynnfield ended the scoreless drought on a Luders penalty kick with 35:52 to play.
“Jonathan’s taken all our penalty kicks,” Munroe said. “He’s a great player. Not to say he can’t miss one, but he’s always happy to step up and take it.”
The Pioneers bumped their lead to 2-0 a few minutes later, this time with Bass firing the shot into the back of the net. Lynnfield came close to stretching its lead to 3-0 when Thomas Buston picked up a pass from Jackson Cleary and sent a header that just missed with 10:55 to play. Lynnfield kept the Hornets at bay for the remainder of the game to close its 2-0 win.
“It was kind of two different styles. They were trying to hold it and move the ball around and we were trying to go for quick strikes,” Munroe said. “The quick strikes, we got the penalty kick that was a quick strike. The second goal didn’t come off any real passing, it was a free ball that we scored. In the second half we got a couple balls that worked for us.”
The Pioneers (12-1-1) have a tough week in front of them. Lynnfield hosts Pentucket Wednesday (3:45) and visits CAL powerhouse Masconomet Friday (3:45).
“We’re definitely thinking about (state tournament) seeding,” Munroe said. “We have Pentucket and Masco. Masco’s undefeated in our league and hasn’t lost in our league in five years. Pentucket we beat earlier in the year but they’re really good. These are the three best teams in our league. We want to win for seeding but to be honest we’re also thinking about it as playing tournament-ready teams now. If we can hang with these teams, we feel we’re in good shape for the tournament.”