LYNN — Wednesday evening’s game against Gloucester was a big test for a Lynn Classical boys soccer team that’s looking to cement itself as a contender in the Northeastern Conference this season. Unfortunately for Classical, Gloucester was too tall a task.
Junior midfielder Anthony Suaza scored two goals for the Fishermen as Gloucester took down the Rams, 3-0, at Manning Field.
“We didn’t really play the first half,” Classical coach Dominick Steadman said. “We were sleepwalking, sort of how we did the first half in Monday’s game against English. The only difference is this time they made us pay for it. Lazy fouls on defense were our mistakes.”
The Fishermen raced out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first half and sat in the driver’s seat for the remainder of the evening. That forced Classical to play catch-up the rest of the way.
“Gloucester got a free kick right outside the box and a penalty kick,” Steadman said. “That didn’t help. They looked worse than they were because of laziness defensively.”
Mistakes on the defensive end cost the Rams in the first half. After junior midfielder Elijah Elliot found the back of the net five minutes into the game, Suaza made it a 2-0 Gloucester lead when the junior scored on a free kick in the 15th minute.
Classical kept the Gloucester offense off the board for the next 20 minutes, allowing the heavily-tested Rams goalie Daniel Cortes to take a breather, but a penalty kick opportunity turned into Suaza’s second goal of the evening. That put the Rams in a 3-0 hole at recess.
“It’s tough to play down by three goals,” Steadman said. “All you can do is try to get the next one. We had plenty of opportunities in that whole second half. We kept the pressure up and played our game, the way we should’ve been playing since kickoff.”
The Rams established a stronger offensive attack in the second half while keeping Gloucester off the board. Despite a more energetic Classical offense, Fishermen goalie Bevan Worell denied each Classical attempt to preserve the shutout in the 3-0 win.
Steadman credited Gloucester’s Worell for a strong performance while adding that Classical’s still looking to find confidence and rhythm on offense.
“He (Worell) was good,” Steadman said. “We also only had a few legit opportunities. We’re still trying to find our footing offensively to understand that we’re a dangerous team if we can put the ball in net. We have a lot of guys that can shoot. Unfortunately they feel the need that they have to get close to get the perfect shot. They’re still young and they’re still learning that they have to be quick to the trigger.”
Classical dropped to 2-2 on the season with the loss. The Rams now shift their focus to Tuesday afternoon’s matchup at Winthrop, another NEC opponent.
“It’s just a matter of playing our game from the opening whistle,” Steadman said. “We have a few guys that aren’t healthy right now and that hurts, but it’s about coming together as a team. We have to play a team style of soccer and stick with our game plan.”
