The Marblehead High boys soccer team (9-4) had a pretournament warmup against non-league host West Springfield (7-5-2), the defending Division 2 state champs, last Saturday, Oct. 17. It was a competitive battle, but the visitors ended up on the short end of a 2-0 final score.
As of the Oct. 16 MIAA power rankings, West Springfield was the 14th seed in Division 2, while the Magicians were 26th. There are 61 teams in this division statewide.
“To be the champ, you must beat the champ, and we almost did,” said coach Elmer Magana. “Our boys represented the (Northeastern Conference) very well. They played hard throughout every second of the game. “(Specifically), the defense neutralized the West Side attack, holding them scoreless in the first half.”
At the other end of the pitch, Quinn Cohane, playing on the right side, turned in “a great game,” said Magana. “He hit the crossbar on a shot outside the box, but was chopped (on the play) that injured his ankle.”
His replacement, freshman Phillip Druker, did a great job bringing the energy back after Cohane’s injury, according to Magana, who then added that “we kept on fighting to complete passes in order to set up more scoring opportunities.”
Druker almost scored once on the left side. “It missed the net by an inch,” said Magana.
The second West Springfield goal was a result of an offside that was not called.
“Goalie Andrew Halvorson kept us in the game,” said Magana. “Midfielders Erik Badzak and Mark Vinokur, also two of our captains, played well, while Jackson Nutt, our central defensive midfielder, played hard to win possession of the ball. Defenders Judah Spelling, Noah Smerka, Mitchell Leighton and Jay Diggens gave the offense a chance to score (with their quick passes out of the zone).”
Magana said that the score doesn’t reflect on just how close this game was. “I’m extremely proud of how hard our boys battled the defending state champs,” he added.
Earlier last week, the Magicians exploded past Peabody, 7-0 on Oct. 13.
“This was a game that was a display of great offensive firepower,” said Magana.
Striker David Magen had the hat trick to pace the attack. Julien Poitevin scored twice, while Vinokur and Cohane each scored once.
“Our defense was solid by not allowing many shots on net,” said Magana.
Halvorson stopped two shots to help preserve another shutout, the team’s seventh this fall.
Magana said that defender Nate Bentley was the unsung hero of the game. He filled-in nicely twice for captain Mitchell Goldwater, who needed a break. The veteran coach praised Mitchell’s defensive efforts in leading his teammates on that side of the pitch.
“The Tanners had plenty of individual talent, but struggled to play as a unit, while we were a well-oiled machine,” said Magana.
But two days later, Masco came to Piper to pin a 2-0 loss on the home team.
After beating them at home, 1-0 on Oct. 7, the Chieftains came out hungry, determined to avenge that loss, and that’s what they did.
“While we created scoring chances, the Chieftains created more, and kept on pressing until they scored with 30 seconds left in the first half,” said Magana. “In the second half, we struggled to create scoring chances. Halvorson made three incredible saves to keep us in the game, but even that didn’t inspire a few Magicians to give it their all.”
