MARBLEHEAD — It was a tale of two halves for the English boys soccer team Wednesday, but the Bulldogs were able to get past their second-half mishaps and hold on for a 2-1 victory over Marblehead on the road at Piper Field. With the win, the Bulldogs remain unbeaten on the season.
“We got off to a quick start, but I’ve got to give credit to Marblehead in the second half of the game, they just beat us to all the balls,” said English coach Kerry King. “They were able to force us out of our comfort zone at times, but after jumping ahead early we were able to weather the storm.”
English got one goal each from Bruno Cabral and Luis Aleman, while Ryan Lima had two assists.
Lima has been the ultimate playmaker for English in recent games, assisting on each of the last five goals the Bulldogs have scored.
“He’s got incredible skill and the best thing about him is the fact that he’s so unselfish,” King said of Lima. “He’s such a talented player and he loves to pass. Sometimes I actually wish he’d shoot a little more because he can score as well, but he’s been big for our offense this year.”
English also got another solid performance from goalkeeper Jack Mancaniello, who made a number of crucial saves down the stretch to hold onto the lead.
“Jack’s only a freshman, but he’s playing like a senior out there,” said King. “He’s a very gifted goalkeeper and we’re lucky to have him.”
Marblehead’s goal was scored by Addison Fletcher on an assist from Ryan Masibes.
“The effort was there for us, and that’s where it all starts for our team,” said Marblehead coach Scott Laramie. “English is a good team and it would have been nice to get a win, but we did some good things out on the field.”
English played its best soccer early in the first half, scoring both of its goal within the first 20 minutes. The first one came from Cabral just just over 30 minutes remaining in the half. Lima took the ball from the midfield and sent a pass right through Marblehead’s defense to Cabral, who got free and sent a rocket of a shot under the crossbar to make it 1-0. Just 10 minutes later, Lima made another nifty pass — this time to Aleman — that resulted in a goal to put the Bulldogs up 2-0.
The Magicians started to play better toward the end of the first half, but they were unable to find the back of the net and English took a 2-0 lead into the half.
But the second half belonged to Marblehead. The Magicians got on the board with just over 28 minutes remaining, with Fletcher scoring on a header from a corner kick to make it 2-1. Marblehead had a few other quality chances throughout the second half, but English was able to hold the Magicians at bay and go home with the victory.
Next up for Marblehead (2-3-3) is a matchup with Salem on Friday (4).
“It’s the nature of our conference, we go up against good teams every game,” Laramie said. “Hopefully we can build on some of the positive things we’ve been doing and take those into the next game.”
English (7-0-1) will try to keep its undefeated record intact Friday (4) against Peabody.
“We’re a little beaten up right now, so hopefully we can get some rest and be prepared for another tough game against a conference opponent,” said King.