LYNN — Marblehead boys soccer coach Scott Laramie knew what it’d take from his Magicians to beat Classical in Wednesday night’s Division 2 North first-round tilt. The Magicians needed clutch saves from goalie Xander Lohan, timely goals and lockdown defense.
No. 15 Marblehead checked off all those boxes in a hard-fought 2-1 win at Manning Field, punching its ticket to the sectional quarterfinal.
“We had to contain Classical’s front line,” Laramie, whose Magicians fell 2-1 to the Rams during the regular season, said. “That’s a good side. We understood how they played. We did a good job containing the guys up front and out wide. That’s a team effort. Classical, from front to back, is a good team. Our boys worked hard. That was the difference.”
Ryan Masters put the Magicians ahead 1-0 in the opening period and Cam Hefitz netted the game-winner just 16 seconds after Classical’s Jair Alvarez (first varsity goal) tied the game at 1-1 in the second half.
Lohan, who stopped a Classical penalty kick early in the second half, recorded 15 saves.
“Xander’s phenomenal,” Laramie said. “I think that’s the third or fourth PK he’s saved this year. We’re lucky to have him on our side, no doubt.”
No. 2 Classical ends the season at 13-4-2.
“It was a great season,” Rams coach Eric Moreno Jr. said. “We put ourselves in the right position, we just didn’t execute when it was time. Sometimes bye weeks can go good or bad. This time it just didn’t work out for us. The boys had a great season and we’ll be back.”
Marblehead won the battle of possession at the start of the first half. The Magicians did a good job keeping the ball away from Classical but didn’t have anything to show for it on the scoreboard. That changed in the 31st minute, when Masters picked up a pass, found a slim opening in between Classical defenders and fired a shot into the back of the net to put Marblehead up 1-0. Classical’s offense came to life as the half progressed but Lohan was alert. The senior goalie made a pair of highlight-reel leaping saves at the close of the half to preserve Marblehead’s 1-0 lead at recess.
With an added jolt of intensity, the Rams gained their steam in the second half as they chased the equalizer. Lohan saved Jenner Robles Sandoval’s penalty kick with 33 minutes to go, Gabriel Sarmento’s shot from 20 yards out four minutes later and Fernando Gomez Godinez’s slow roller two minutes after that.
“(Lohan) is a great goalie,” Moreno Jr. said, “and the defense, they don’t stop. They don’t give up. They get beat, they get back and they keep working hard. Hard work will get you a win in this tournament.”
The Rams’ efforts finally paid dividends when Alvarez knotted the score at 1-1 midway through the half.
It only took Marblehead 16 seconds to erase Classical’s momentum. Hefitz raced down the field and delivered a perfectly-placed shot to put Marblehead up 2-1.
“Sometimes good things happen,” Laramie said. “In the game of soccer, things normally don’t work that. We’ll take it, absolutely.”
“It was a mental lapse,” Moreno Jr. said. “Some of the guys, maybe the moment was a little too big. It looked like someone moved out of position. It was such a weird game. We missed a penalty kick as well. It was uncharacteristic.”
Marblehead kept Classical at bay through the closing stretch for the 2-1 win.
The Magicians will play Belmont Saturday (6).
