Classical boys soccer bows out

DORCHESTER – Upon first glance Wednesday, the MIAA Division 2 North boys soccer quarterfinal game looked like the varsity scrimmaging the JVs.This is not to disparage Lynn Classical. The Rams played as good a game as one could play against the victorious Tech Boston Academy. But the Bears (Tech Boston, a pilot school, is an extension of Dorchester High School) were bigger and faster, and the disparity showed up pretty early.Still, the Rams had nothing to be ashamed of after their 4-2 defeat at the hands of the Bears. They gave it all they had.?(Tech Boston) is very skilled, and very tough,” said Rams coach Rob Upton. “There wasn?t a lot of room for error. They presented a real challenge for us.”Coming into the tournament, the Bears were looking to win their first tournament game. Now, they?ve won two and they?re headed for Woburn High Thursday (4) to play Masconomet in a sectional semifinal game.?They?re excited,” said coach Tim Lavin, watching his players and their fans dance around Roberts Playground as if they?d won the World Cup. “This is a big deal for us.?But I?ll tell you, Classical played a great game,” he said. “They never quit and they ended up making it an interesting game … much more interesting than I wanted it to be.”From the opening whistle to extra time in the second half, very little went right for Classical. It was a physical game, and several players either walked off the field limping or cramped up in the cold of the late-autumn afternoon. Even worse, the Bears attacked relentlessly in the first half, with keeper Strati Saranteas making at least six saves on vicious line-drive shots that had him jumping all over the inside of the net.Still, the Bears put two past him, both the result of pinpoint passing. The first one came only four minutes into the game, with Warren Exceus getting past the defense and putting an awkward kick just inside the left post. At the 8:42 mark, Tevin Reid, with an assist from Saadiq Abubaker, made it 2-0, as the result of a forward pass that enabled him to sneak past the back line.That?s how the half ended, and it could have been a lot worse, were it not for Saranteas. In the second half, the Bears were content to sit on the lead. Still, they scored two themselves. Exceus scored his second of the game with 27:57 to go, streaking down the far sideline, cutting in, and simply tapping it past Saranteas, who was leaning in the opposite direction. Tech scored its final goal on Reid?s penalty kick late in the second half.With the clock shut off at the two-minute mark, Classical went on a late run.?That?s the way we?ve been all year,” said Upton. “This team never stopped playing, and never stopped supporting each other. We had a good group.”On the first goal, Keregya Nasibu?s corner kick managed to have enough of a hook on it to get through the defense and elude keeper Heroldens Limage to make it 4-1. Moments later, off a throw-in, the ball went through a host of players from both sides before Yabesi Musema managed to get a foot on it and send it through.Classical ends its season at 10-8-2.