LYNN– The St. Mary’s boys soccer team came into the season with three goals in mind. Prior to wrapping their first undefeated regular season with a 1-1 tie with Concord-Carlisle on Monday, the Spartans had already accomplished two of those feats. And with dedicated players like junior center midfielder Nolan Perez leading the charge, St. Mary’s is certainly in good position to reach its third target: winning a state championship.
In his third season on the varsity team, Perez has scored seven goals and dished six assists to help a Spartans offense that outscored its opponents 56-8 en route to an undefeated record at 17-0-1.
“It feels good to finish the year undefeated,” Perez, a Lynn native, said. “I don’t think any of us expected that we would finish the season undefeated. We knew we had a lot of talent on this team but I don’t think any of us thought we would go without a loss.”
Coming into his junior season, Perez was focused on making himself available to contribute wherever he was needed. Throughout his three seasons on the team, Perez has played multiple positions in making contributions on both offense and defense.
“When I first came to St. Mary’s, I started out as a right-back,” Perez said. “Now I’ve settled in as a center-mid. I take pride in doing my best wherever I’m needed, whether it’s on defense or helping us get a goal in.”
Perez’s ability to make plays all over the field has certainly been to the benefit of Spartans coach Mike D’Agostino, who can rely on his center midfielder in multiple areas. While most players at the high school level will only focus on one end of the field, D’Agostino has seen Perez do his best to master both offense and defense in his time with the Spartans.
“Nolan and Joseph (Thongsythavong) both play a core position for us,” D’Agostino said. “Nolan’s a quiet player but he’s a smart and diligent player. Some kids focus on just offense or just defense but Nolan excels in both areas.
“He’s been in there 99 percent of the time,” D’Agostino added. “He’s a key part of our team and he’s the backbone of our offense and our defense. He deserves a lot of credit for that. He takes a lot of pride in leadership. He’s a respectful and well-educated player.”
In addition to excelling on the field, D’Agostino has also seen Perez grow into a team leader.
“Nolan brings a lot of leadership on and off the field,” D’Agostino said. “He’s a silent leader. Last year he played defense and we moved him to midfield. Even this year, he’s played some games in the back when needed. He’s very versatile.”
Now that the regular season has come to a close, St. Mary’s is shifting its attention to the state tournament. Over the past few seasons, the Spartans have grown into a tournament mainstay and they’re looking for similar success, if not better, this time around.
“It was great to go undefeated but that doesn’t matter as much now,” Perez said. “The state tournament is a whole different season. Any team can beat you on any given day. We just have to play our best game and hope we can go as far as we can.”
As for St. Mary’s three goals this year, two of those boxes have already been checked. Now the Spartans can focus on getting to the third.
“We had three goals coming into the season,” Perez said. “First was to win the Lynn City Tournament, second was to win the CCL and third was to win a state championship.”
In order to maintain their success in the postseason and reach that third feat, Perez feels the Spartans will have to rely on the chemistry they’ve developed throughout the regular season. The majority of the team’s core has played together for multiple seasons, meaning the players are able to recognize one another’s strengths on the field.
“The chemistry has helped,” Perez said. “A lot of us have been playing together for three years now. We know what we’re thinking and we know how one another plays. Richie (Mateo) has 11 shutouts in net and our defense has been amazing. Our attack has been great. As individuals we’re all strong and as a team we’re even stronger.
“We see ourselves as brothers,” Perez added. “We just have to play for each other. We don’t play for ourselves. We’ve played for one another all season and that’s been one of our keys this year. If we continue to do that and listen to our coaches, we’ll go far.”
