LYNN — Tuesday evening’s boys soccer game between Tech and Greater Lowell at Manning Field was as evenly played as it gets. Thus, the 1-1 tie was a fitting end result.
Omer Pojoy scored Tech’s lone goal in the closing stages of the second half, salvaging the tie. Tigers goalie Yunior Ramirez made six saves.
Despite the tie, first-year Tigers coach Eric Moreno Sr. said missed opportunities held Tech from clawing its way to a win.
“At the beginning of the game we had our chances,” Moreno Sr. said. “We had at least four goals that we could put away. We wouldn’t have been in that situation where (Greater Lowell) scored and then we had to come from behind and tie the game. It’s a tie but we definitely had this game if we made those chances that we had.”
Both teams fell short on multiple opportunities in the first half. The Gryphons drew two free kicks — the first was blocked by Tech’s defense and the second was off the mark. Bryan Barrera and Geo Ramirez highlighted the first half with quality scoring chances, but Greater Lowell goalie Carlos Nicolau stood tall in net to keep Tech’s offense at bay. Geo Ramirez sent a solid shot in Nicolau’s direction with 9:15 remaining in the half but Nicolau corralled his own tip to deny the goal. The first half ended in a scoreless tie.
“I think those misses had to do with players getting nervous,” Moreno Sr. said. “Sometimes when they have the ball right in front of the net, they know they have to shoot it but they might not know how open they are. They just need to place it in the corners.”
It was more of the same during the early minutes of the second half. Greater Lowell’s Enrico Nuttoli snuck by the Tigers defense for a one-on-one look at the net before Yunior Ramirez raced out of his post to make a key save with 35:05 to play in the game.
“This is the second time (Yunior) plays in a big game like this,” Moreno Sr. said. “He’s committed. He’s always in practice. He’s working on diving better and getting to the ball better, but he made a lot of big saves.”
The Tigers took the ball to the other side of the field and Pojoy’s slow roller missed the goal by a few feet. Yeferson Lopez picked up a nice pass with 29:30 remaining and sent a header right into Nicolau’s hands.
Greater Lowell finally broke through with 24:44 left in the game when Matt Barbosa found the back of the net on a free kick. It looked as though Yunior Ramirez would make the save but Barbosa’s shot slipped through his hands for the Gryphons goal.
Tech’s Pojoy played hero and tied the game at 1-1 10 minutes later.
“(Omer) has always come through,” Moreno Sr. said. “I have to talk to him during the halves and everything. This is the third time that he comes through with a goal. It’s a tie. We would’ve wanted the win but it is what it is. He came up big on that goal. He took up their defenders and buried it into the net. That was a big goal.”
Although three free kicks were awarded in the final 10 minutes of play, neither team capitalized and the game ended at 1-1.
The Tigers (2-2-2) visit Minuteman Thursday afternoon (4).
“If we continue playing the formation I gave our team and if we continue playing together, I think we’re going to be ok but we definitely need to start winning some games,” Moreno Sr. said. “Two wins is great. The two losses and the two ties, that’s not what we’re looking for. We need more wins than ties. Hopefully with these next games coming up we can win some more.”
