Boys soccer: Tech qualifies for state tourney

Last season, Tech missed out on a state tournament berth for the first time in six years. That year, the Tigers came out on the short end of quite a few close games.On Friday, balanced scoring helped the Tigers return to the postseason, with a 6-0 decision over Fellowship in Methuen securing a tournament berth. Tech is 7-3-2.”Last year, we lost a lot of games by one goal,” Tech coach Fred Gallo said. “This year, a bunch of kids are scoring. I think that’s the big difference. We’re passing and the team is working together. When we score, a lot of kids contribute.”Yesterday, five players scored. Gustavo Rodriguez finished with two goals and Pedro Blas, Francisco Franco, Jonathan Herrera and Moises Amana each had one. Tech led 5-0 at halftime.Jonathan DeLeon made “a couple of real nice saves” for the Tigers, Gallo said.”I had quite a few kids returning from last year and a few new players,” Gallo said. “The team just really came together. It’s a really good combination of players.”Masco 1, L’field 0At Topsfield, the teams were in a scoreless tie at halftime ? but about 20 minutes into the second half, the Chieftains finally scored against Lynnfield goalie Jerry Reid.Lynnfield coach Brent Munroe praised one of his defenders, Peter Franchi, for a standout performance.”(Masco) had a very good forward,” Munroe said, referring to the Chieftains’ John Miller. “He marked (Miller) and did a very good job.”Lynnfield fell to 6-4-2.St. John’s (S) 2, St. John’s (D) 0At Shrewsbury, Steve Pasinski’s 11-save effort helped the Eagles (6-6-1) stay in the hunt.”Another great game,” saluted Prep coach Dave Crowell. “He kept us in it.”Stopper Justin Peluso also played well for St. John’s.In other news, the Revere at Saugus game scheduled for Friday was postponed due to rain. No makeup date was immediately available.THURSDAYEnglish 4, Winthrop 2At Manning Field, the Bulldogs (5-6-1) got a goal and an assist each from Alex Mulbah and Jefferson Fobellah. Brothers A.J. and Valdrim Xhemajli each scored one goal. Daniel Cordoba made two saves in net. English led 3-1 at halftime.”Actually, we’re playing very well,” Bulldogs coach Kerry King said. “Goal-scoring has been probably a problem with us.” However, the coach noted, English has lost four one-goal games this year.