LYNN— Bishop Fenwick boys soccer coach Tony Enos felt his Crusaders had two of their toughest opponents back-to-back to open the season. Wednesday night’s 2-2 tie with St. Mary’s at Manning Field proved Enos was right but his Crusaders were up for the challenge.
“Both of these teams were very difficult,” Enos said. “St. Mary’s is a real crosstown rivalry. St. Mary’s won the league last year so we’re very happy to tie them. They’re a very good, quality team. We had opportunities to win so the game could’ve gone either way.”
Joseph Thongsythavong scored both St. Mary’s goals. Kevin Perez dished the assist on both goals.
“We had up and down flow today,” St. Mary’s coach Mike D’Agostino said. “We had our chances to finish but we couldn’t. (Fenwick goalie) Brian (Harrington) is a great keeper. He’s solid in net.
“Joseph had two nice goals short side with both assists from Kevin.”
Brendan Crichton scored in the first half and Sean Walsh added a goal in the second half to account for Fenwick’s scoring.
It didn’t take Thongsythavong long to make his impact felt in this one. The senior captain got the Spartans started on the right foot with the game’s first goal just five and a half minutes into the tilt, putting the Spartans ahead 1-0.
Fenwick answered when Crichton found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1 with 8:19 left in the half. Thongsythavong gave the Spartans a boost of momentum, and the lead again, when he scored his second goal of the night in the closing seconds of the half. St. Mary’s led 2-1 at halftime.
The Crusaders tied the game at 2-2 on a goal from Walsh with 28:51 remaining on the clock.
“It shows mental toughness,” Enos said. “These guys are mentally tough, they really are. They’re disciplined, mentally tough. We made some adjustments from what we were seeing in the game. They carried it through, they were very organized and very disciplined but mentally they’re very tough. This team doesn’t give up.”
Both teams had a handful of chances to notch the go-ahead goal but neither could put one in. Spartans goalie Nick Pappas made a point-blank save in the closing minute to preserve the 2-2 tie.
“Nick’s a very good keeper,” Enos said. “I thought that was his best save of the night. He made a great save. The ball was clearly struck hard because I saw Nick kind of shake his hands a little bit after he stopped it, so that was a stinger.”
Enos credited center-back Andrew Perry for a solid game.
“Andrew was the fastest kid on the field,” Enos said. “St. Mary’s (Olu George) plays very fast. One of the reasons I moved Perry to the center-back position is specifically because (George) was on the field. Andrew has his kind of speed and he did a great job.”
The Crusaders are 0-1-1 on the season. Fenwick, still seeking its first victory, visits Matignon for another Catholic Central League tilt Friday afternoon (3:30). The Spartans (1-1-1) visit Arlington Catholic in a CCL clash Monday afternoon (3:30).
