LYNN — The English boys soccer team doesn’t need any extra incentive when it comes to facing off against Classical. However, after a lackluster performance in this year’s Lynn City Soccer Tournament, the Bulldogs wanted to show that they could hang. English did just that on Thursday, notching a 3-0 shutout over their crosstown rival at Manning Field.
“We had a tough time in the City Tournament this year, and the guys were motivated because of it,” said English coach Kerry King. “We feel like we can play with any team as long as we play our game, and we were able to do that in this one.”
Chris Lazo, Gessler Regalado and Andric Barrios each scored one goal for English, while Ryan Lima had one assist.
The Bulldogs also got a stellar performance in net from goalkeeper Jack Mancaniello, who made a number of big saves in the win.
“It’s so important to have someone like Jack back there,” said King. “He’s not just a great keeper, but he’s a vocal leader, he’s a great distributor of the ball and a great communicator. He really leads the way on our back end.”
For Classical, which was on the second day of a back-to-back and playing its fourth game in six days, the Rams simply ran out of gas.
“We did the best we could out there, but the guys just didn’t have the legs or the mental discipline,” said Classical coach Eric Moreno Jr. “We just weren’t able to play the brand of soccer that we can play, and I think that frustrated the guys and led to some uncharacteristic mistakes.”
It was a back-and-forth battle throughout the first 20 minutes of action, with Classical actually dominating in time of possession. But while the Rams got more scoring opportunities early, it was the Bulldogs who capitalized when it mattered.
With just under 11 minutes remaining in the first half, English earned a free kick from about 15 yards away, just inside of the right sideline. It was a tough angle to score on, but Lazo sent a curving kick toward the net that actually bounced off a Classical defender and found its way into the net to give English a 1-0 lead.
“In soccer, getting the first goal is so key,” said King. “Once we got that goal, we were able to play a little looser and with a little more confidence out there.”
The second half saw English start to pull away. With 28 minutes left in the game, Lima sprinted into the Classical zone and slipped a nifty pass through two defenders and onto the foot of Regalado, who had snuck behind the defense. All he needed to do was beat the keeper, and he sent a shot right under the crossbar to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage.
English largely played a more defensive game from that point to conserve the lead, but the Bulldogs did add one more insurance goal to make it 3-0 with less than two minutes to go after Barrios converted on a free kick.
Classical (4-1) has a few much-needed days of rest on the horizon before getting back in action Tuesday (4) against Malden.
“We definitely need this period of rest, because we’re starting to pick up some injuries now and it would be nice to rest up a bit before the next game,” said Moreno. “As far as execution, the guys know that they have to be better and I think they will be come next week.”
English (3-0-1) will take on Salem Monday.
“I don’t mean to sound cliche, but we just need to take it one game at a time,” said King. “We just have to keep working hard and playing together, and that’s what’s important.”