LYNN — The undefeated season continues on for the St. Mary’s boys soccer team after the Spartans took down North Reading, 3-1, at Manning Field on Thursday night. The win was keyed by a big first half for St. Mary’s, including two goals within a five-minute span.
“We played very well in the first half and set the tone early,” said St. Mary’s coach Mike D’Agostino. “We were able to get a bunch of chances, and the two early goals really put us in a good position for the rest of the game.”
As D’Agostino stated, the Spartans came out on fire to open up the game. St. Mary’s pushed the ball into the offensive zone and got multiple scoring opportunities, including a pair of great chances for Chris Garcia. North Reading responded and got a couple chances on the other end, but the Spartans just kept coming.
Then, with about 26 minutes remaining in the first half, Thiago DeOliveira got St. Mary’s on the board on a nifty goal right in front of the net. Less than five minutes later, Nolan Perez took control of the ball at midfield and took it 40 yards up field, eventually burying a shot past the North Reading goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
The Spartans continued to dominate possession for much of the rest of the first half, earning a few corner kicks along the way. With just over seven minutes left in the half, Joseph Thongsythavong scored on a beautiful header that came off the foot of DeOliveira on a corner kick, giving the Spartans a three-goal lead at the break.
“We’ve been working on those set pieces all year long, and that one was executed really well,” D’Agostino said of Thongsythavong’s goal. “That’s the way it needs to be done, so it’s good to see us executing like that as we get closer to the tournament.”
North Reading tried to respond in the second half, but couldn’t get enough scoring chances to make it a game. The Hornets did break through about 10 minutes into the second half with a goal from Ian Branconnier, but that was the only goal North Reading would muster.
Now at 16-0 with two games remaining, an undefeated season is truly within reach. The road won’t be easy, however, as the Spartans will face two tough non-conference matchups to close out the year in Pentucket and Concord-Carlisle.
“The goal is obviously to keep the momentum going into the tournament, but we’ve also got some guys who are banged up,” said D’Agostino. “At 16-0, this is the furthest we’ve ever come as a program, so this is huge for us. I like the way we’re playing both offensively and defensively right now, so we want to keep that rolling.”
The Spartans will host Pentucket at Manning Field on Saturday morning for St. Mary’s Senior Day.
