DANVERS — It’s no secret that the Lynnfield boys soccer team leans heavily on its defense to come through in big spots. And it’s proven to be the Pioneers’ winning formula.
The No. 10 Pioneers qualified for the postseason with a 9-8-1 record. Since then, they’ve been just about as resilient of a group as you’ll see in the state tournament. Lynnfield beat both Gloucester (1-0) and Northeast (3-1) on the road in the first round and quarterfinal, respectively. Monday, the Pioneers punched their ticket to the Division 3 North final with a 2-1 win over No. 3 Watertown at Glatz Field.
It’s been a true team effort in the back end but there’s no denying that goalkeeper Dante Gesamondo has been the difference. The pressure has been on Gesamondo all year, but it’s something the junior keeper embraces.
“I love it,” Gesamondo said. “I like the pressure. I obviously play a big role. That’s how we’ve been playing all season. We try to lock it down after we get one goal. We haven’t had many big wins score wise. Playing defense first, that’s just how are whole season has been and it’s been working out for us.”
Lynnfield head coach Brent Munroe doesn’t mince his words when talking about the key role that Gesamondo has played in getting the Pioneers this far into the tournament.
“Basically the first two games we had in the tournament, we could’ve easily lost either one of them if Dante wasn’t awesome,” Munroe said. “He’s been fantastic. He was fantastic all year and the tournament has been the same, he even upped it a little bit. We talk about it at timeouts, we have the best goalie in the tournament and we have to rely on him.”
Monday, the Pioneers gave Gesamondo and his defense, led by sweeper Luke Martinho, a bit of a cushion to work with with a 2-0 lead midway through the half. It was with that 2-0 lead that Gesamondo made one of the best plays of the game. A foul just outside the Pioneers’ box gave Watertown a free kick and Gesamondo made a diving save on the play.
Before the play Gesamondo’s focus was on getting his team focused and keeping the ball away from Watertown’s playmakers.
“Whenever there’s a foul I don’t even think about it,” Gesamondo, who recorded 17 saves in the 2-1 win, said. “I just agree with the call the referee made and try to get everyone back right away to set up. There’s no point of arguing a call. We were ready for that free kick. I tried to hit it out wide and not get it back into the middle because their strikers are very good.”
The Pioneers went into Monday knowing they would have their hands full with Watertown from start to finish. Gesamondo was peppered with shots all game and that took a toll on him and his defenders, who gave up a late goal on a corner before wrapping up the game.
Gesamondo said the key to the win was keeping Watertown’s shots outside the box and fighting through the fatigue.
“I personally love the shots outside the box,” Gesamondo said. “I hate the shots inside the box, that’s my least favorite. It definitely wore us down a little bit but when we get up 1-0 we like to lock down the fort. We shut them down, forced them outside. It drained us a little bit but we kept fighting back.”
The Pioneers will take on No. 1 Bedford in the North final Saturday (1) at Manning Field.