Defense is king at Agganis boys’ soccer game

LYNN – The Agganis Classics week continued at Manning Field Wednesday night for the Agganis All-Star boys? soccer game. There were 22 area athletes who competed in the game, with Peabody leading the way with four players. St. Mary?s, St. John?s Prep, Bishop Fenwick and Lynn Classical sent three players each.
In a fast-paced, exciting game, the North beat the South, 1-0. St. Mary?s forward Christian Chavez was named the MVP of the victorious North and Woburn?s Preston Gordon was the MVP of the South.
?Christian is a high-caliber player,” said North coach Mike D?Agostino, who also coached Chavez at St. Mary?s. “He was an Eastern Mass. All-Star and an All-New England player this year. The first one I?ve had in my 12 years of coaching. He showed it tonight and I was very pleased with it.”
Defense was the name of the game in this one, unlike almost every All-Star game in any sport. It is a testament to the high skill level of the players and the depth of each team.
?The defense was amazing,” D?Agostino said. “Both goalies were phenomenal.”
The goalies, St. John?s Prep?s Zachary Rowell for the North and Beverly?s Justin Carnevale for the South, were the real stars of the game. They denied everything that came near them. Rowell faced a particularly heavy barrage of shots as the first half came to a close, but he didn?t budge.
Each team got a few quality scoring chances in the first half, but no one could capitalize. The teams went into halftime in a scoreless tie.
The North finally got on the board less than five minutes into the second half. St. Mary?s forward Christian Chavez, who is headed to Franklin Pierce Unviersity in the fall, broke through and put one in the back-left corner to make it 1-0.
The North had two more scoring chances on back-to-back sequences a few minutes later. Chavez almost grabbed his second goal of the game, but some great saves by Carnevale kept the South in the game.
But the North was able to keep the ball in the offensive zone for much of the half, limiting the South?s chances to tie it up. The South got a few good shots on net, but Rowell handled them all.
The North continued its solid defense and ran the rest of the clock down to walk away with the win.
?There was a lot of talented kids here tonight,” said D?Agostino. “It?s a good bunch of kids and I was very pleased with everything tonight.”
Mike Alongi can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @m_alongi.