MARBLEHEAD — For the first half of Monday’s Division 2 North opener between the No. 18 Greater Lowell and No. 15 Marblehead boys soccer teams, not much went the Magicians’ way.
But the Magicians, showing grit while keeping their composure, stayed the course en route to a 2-0 win at Piper Field.
“I thought we were rushing things at times, rushing through the middle and maybe that was just a little bit of nerves,” Magicians coach Scott Laramie said. “But we’ll take it. That’s what it’s all about. Get it to the net, grind through the game and we got two. We’ll take it.”
Alfred Bresnahan and Cam Hefitz each scored second-half goals.
“We tried to put a couple guys up top,” Laramie said of his team’s approach in the second half. “We tried to put another guy up top. I think it was working for a little bit. It was more of our composure, I think. We start the game with a couple defense center-mids, then we switched them out. But I thought we were rushing, I thought we were just a little over-anxious.”
To Greater Lowell’s credit, the Gryphons gave Marblehead everything they had. Goalie Paul Kazalski made multiple point-blank saves to keep Greater Lowell within striking distance.
“Greater Lowell had a couple guys up front that were causing havoc,” Laramie said. “They had good sweepers in the back. We were lucky to get it through. They did a good job packing the middle and trying to keep us to the outside. But again, we’ll take it.”
Marblehead advances to Wednesday’s (6) first-round game at No. 2 Classical. The Rams defeated Marblehead 2-1 in a Northeastern Conference tilt during the regular season.
“We know Classical,” Laramie said. “We played them already and we know they’re a very good team. Hopefully that’ll go our way.
“Classical has multiple kids that can play the game. It’s going to be a very big challenge. But it’s nice. It’s nice to be involved in this and it’s good for the kids.”
In an evenly-played first half, the defenses took center stage. Marblehead made runs at Greater Lowell’s net and generated multiple quality chances. But, to no fault of the Magicians, the timing on their shots was just a bit off. Meanwhile, Magicians goalie Xander Lohan made a few key plays of his own to keep the Gryphons at bay and the first half ended in a scoreless tie.
Things picked up for Marblehead’s offense in the second half. Baxter Jennings sent a one-timer Kazalki’s way but Jennings’ shot was just off the mark. Marblehead finally struck through in the 51st minute, when the Magicians’ attack drew Kazalski out of the post and Bresnahan emerged out of a scrum with the game-winning goal.
With a 1-0 deficit, the Gryphons amped up their attack in the closing minutes of the half. Instead it was Marblehead that found the back of the net with a crucial insurance score. Bresnahan fed Hefitz a nifty pass and the latter cashed in for the 2-0 lead in the closing stages.
“You can’t predict when that happens but it would’ve been nice if we could’ve gotten a few more in a little earlier,” Laramie said. “But they’ll take it. The kids are happy. They were pressing the last 15 minutes. They were getting the ball over the top and they were pressing. Anything can happen in this game.
“I thought Alfred Bresnahan and Hayden Miller played very well. Cam Hefitz, we put him in at the end and he got the second goal. I thought he changed the game a little bit just with his speed and his ability to win the ball.”
