The final week of the regular season was anticlimactic for the Marblehead High boys soccer team (11-5-2). They were the 17th seed in the Division 2 power rankings at the beginning of the week, but when the calendar flipped to November last Saturday, the Magicians found out that they are the 24th seed, and will be playing host Hingham (13-3-3, ninth seed) in the Round of 32 on Nov. 4, starting at 4:30 p.m. But the only thing that they cared about was that they are in the postseason, something they have been working to attain since late August.
For the record, the Magicians last week tied Winthrop (1-1, Oct. 27), but lost to host Melrose (2-0, Oct. 29) to end the regular season.
Winthrop’s Millers Field was packed to celebrate the Vikings’ Senior Night, and once the game began, the defense took over the action.
“(Winthrop) was on the defensive, and defended they did, all game long,” said coach Elmer Magana. “I can describe their tactics as anchoring the Viking Ship in order to stop our offensive attack. Every Viking was behind the ball, waiting for us to make a mistake, which came in the last two minutes of the first half, when a cleared ball hit a Viking helmet, and landed on the foot of a Winthrop player, who put it home. I must point out that our starting center back T.J. Kelly didn’t play, because he was ill, so his absence left a big hole in our defense.”
In the second half, the Marblehead boys kept on trying to poke a hole in the Viking ship. They eventually scored in the last 30 seconds of the game on a corner kick that was headed three times, and was even blocked by the Winthrop goalie once, and one other time by one of its defenders. But then, Bubacarr Jallow charged toward the bouncing ball in the box, and proceeded to drill it into the net to tie up the contest.
“I’m beyond proud of my boys for not allowing the Viking ship to sail away with a victory,” said Magana.
Two days later at Melrose, it was do or die for the Red Hawks. They needed a win or tie to get into the playoffs, so they came out flying and hungry. They took advantage of a shorthanded Marblehead squad. Kelly was once again out, but unfortunately, he was also joined by Ilan Druker and Jared Halpern on the sidelines.
“We didn’t play at Melrose High School. We played in a small park, which doesn’t help our offensive attack that requires space in order to develop the scoring plays,” said Magana afterwards. “The Red Hawks knew how to play in a small space, and were quicker than us. They passed, pressed and defended better.”
Melrose’s first goal in the first half was a result of a communications breakdown between the keeper and defender. Their second goal in the second half was on a penalty kick.
“Our keeper Matias Watts-Cruz got a piece of the ball, but it was a powerful shot that just went in,” said Magana.
“We were fortunate that we had already qualified for the playoffs, because Melrose’s hunger and desire to get into the big dance was not going to be unmatched on this rainy afternoon played on a tiny field,” added the coach. “But the one positive thing that came from this game was the return of forward David Magen, whose fast, aggressive, technical attack style will definitely help us in the playoffs.”
Magana says that he’s very proud of his team to be in the playoffs, before adding, “we played a very challenging schedule against top-ranked clubs throughout the state, and it paid off in terms of the power rankings.”
The veteran Marblehead coach was hoping to host a game, but instead, they are the road warriors, with the first stop at Hingham on Tuesday afternoon.
