DANVERS — It took the St. John’s Prep soccer team a full half to catch steam and find its footing during Wednesday afternoon’s Catholic Conference tilt against Xaverian. But once the Eagles moved in the right direction, the Hawks couldn’t keep pace.
St. John’s used a three-goal rally in the second half to earn a 4-2 win over Xaverian at Cronin Stadium.
“I don’t think we played particularly well in the first half but we definitely made the adjustments we needed to,” Eagles coach Dave Crowell said. “The kids played great in the second half. It’s a matter of playing with urgency for 80 minutes as opposed to 10 minutes here and five minutes there. They have to put that together for an entire half which I think we did in the second half.”
Junior midfielder Garrison Jorge led St. John’s with two goals, while junior midfielder/forward Kuol Majok and junior midfielder Jack Hausler each found the back of the net once. Senior goalie Christian Buckley earned the start in net and kept Xaverian off the scoreboard until the Hawks closed the game with two unanswered goals in the latter part of the second half.
It didn’t take long for the Eagles to score the game’s first goal, as Jorge fired a shot into the back of the net just three minutes into the game for the 1-0 St. John’s lead. Things quieted down from there, however, and neither team managed much offensively for the remainder of the first half. The Eagles held their 1-0 lead at halftime.
Jorge boosted St. John’s edge to 2-0 with his second goal of the game, this time just two minutes into the second half.
“Garrison missed the game Monday (4-3 loss to Silver Lake),” Crowell said. “We’re not a very big team, physically. He gives us size in the middle that we need. He wins a lot of balls and he scored two goals today.”
Majok’s goal gave the Eagles a 3-0 lead with 30:57 remaining in the game. Hausler picked up a deflected save and tipped it into the net with 16:32 to play, placing Xaverian in a 4-0 deficit.
“We finished our chances,” Crowell said. “We had a number in the first half that we didn’t put away. Mainly I attribute it to the step up in intensity. Xaverian’s a good, physical team. We matched their physicality more in the second half. With us, it’s more mental than physical. They’re working hard. We gave the ball away a lot in the first half with poor passing. We cleaned that up in the second half so that was a big difference.”
Xaverian’s Tom Stack put the Hawks on the scoreboard when he scored on a penalty kick with 15:48 left in the game. Michael Olohan added Xaverian’s second goal 90 seconds later, but the Hawks’ rally was too little too late and St. John’s walked away with the 4-2 win.
The Eagles improved to 6-2-1 on the season.
“We’re 4-0-1 in the Catholic Conference and we’re always looking to win that, so this is a big win for us,” Crowell said. “We’re beginning to get to a point now where we can start thinking about seeding. With two losses at home, that’s going to be tough. But if we can win out, you never know.”
St. John’s hosts Needham Saturday afternoon (4).
“That’s a huge game,” Crowell said. “They’re one of the best teams in the state. They beat BC High 3-2. They’re in the Bay State League, which is one of the best leagues in the state. They’re big, we’ve struggled against physically bigger teams so that’s going to be a challenge for us. I’m hoping with our speed and skill we can take advantage of that.”
