MALDEN — The Bishop Fenwick boys soccer team visited Malden Catholic Monday morning expecting a challenging contest from the Lancers.
A challenge is what the Crusaders got but they certainly gave one back.
Malden Catholic’s Nathan Frye scored two goals, one in each half, to power to Lancers to a 3-2 win at Brother Gilbert Stadium. But the story of the game was a pair of Fenwick goals scored in the final 14 minutes, putting a scare on the Lancers.
“There’s no question that I’m proud of the way we finished that game,” Fenwick coach Tony Enos said. “This week, we were working on finishing a lot. We hadn’t scored in six games. We spent three practices working on nothing but finishing and these guys did it.”
The loss drops Fenwick to 2-8-1 on the season, while Malden Catholic improves to 4-5-1.
Both goalies were tested early and often in the first half. Fenwick earned a pair of corner kicks in the first two minutes but neither found the back of the net. John Mahoney sent the first corner kick to Mateo Cerekja, but Cerekja’s header was saved by Lancers goalie Liam Barrett.
“Liam plays great in the back,” Lancers coach Scott Elias said. “He controls the defense and sees the plays. He helps the defense clear out and he did a really nice job in net.”
Frye and William Klonsky created one-on-one opportunities but both shots were saved by Fenwick keeper Christian Loescher.
The half remained scoreless until the 36th minute, when Frye put the Lancers on the board with his first goal of the game. The Crusaders trailed 1-0 at halftime.
“At halftime, I thought we gave up a cheap goal,” Enos said. “But a goal is a goal. We had to continue pressing. We were playing a high-pressure system. We had to continue pressing.”
Four minutes into the second half, Frye, a junior striker, beat Loescher on a one-on-one to boost Malden Catholic’s lead to 2-0. Six minutes later, Klonsky, a junior midfielder, found the back of the net to place the Crusaders in a steep 3-0 deficit.
“I thought we were going to put something in fairly quickly,” Enos said. “When we gave up that second goal, then it became a little difficult. We had to take some chances going forward and play some long balls.”
On the other side, the two quick second-half scores put the Lancers right where they hoped to be coming out of the midway break.
“We just talked about playing our game of soccer and not allowing Fenwick to play its game,” Elias said. “We contained the ball, slowed things down and played Malden Catholic soccer.”
Fenwick found its way onto the scoreboard in the 66th minute, when Ryan Radzik booted a long-distance shot past Malden Catholic’s Barrett. Radzik’s goal slimmed the Lancers lead to 3-1.
Things got even more interesting when Sean Walsh scored on a header in the 78th minute to make it a one-goal game at 3-2.
“The difference was my bench,” Enos said. “I put the bench in. I figured we were down three goals and some of these guys don’t get a lot of playing time. We worked on a lot of things and these guys showed they listened. They carried out exactly what we asked them to and they put the ball in the back of the net.”
Fenwick’s offense found its rhythm but it was too little too late as the Lancers held on for the win.
“Fenwick’s a competitive team,” Elias said. “Last season, they pretty much annihilated us in one of the games we played them. I was expecting a tough game. I thought my guys played well today. They contained themselves and they earned a good win.”
Both teams are back on the field on Wednesday as Malden Catholic hosts New Mission and Fenwick hosts Arlington Catholic.
