The KIPP boy soccer team didn’t get the win Wednesday, but head coach Jon Langlois and his crew still walked away from the last game of the season with their heads held high. The Panthers ended the year with a 3-1 loss on the road at Methuen.
“The game actually ended eight minutes early because of lightning,” Langlois said. “We were getting a lot of pressure late, we think we could have tied it. We were able to keep the ball on the ground and play our game which is about possession. We kept the ball on our feet.”
Jeff Paz scored the lone goal for KIPP on an impressive play where he intercepted a pass, beat a pair of defenders and finished off the play by finding the back of the net.
KIPP ends its first season in the MIAA with a 7-4-1 record and, with almost its entire roster returning, is already looking towards the fall.
“The boys are already talking about getting into the gym,” Langlois said. “The fitness part of things was a tough battle this season. A lot of kids hadn’t done anything for a while. We had to learn how to play the ball directly before the off-ball game got better towards the end of the season. We want to take care of the fitness aspect early so that we can get right to soccer in the fall.”
Like any other team, KIPP is also hoping COVID guidelines will be a thing of the past next season.
“There’s a lot of things we couldn’t get to this year without headers and throwins,” Langlois said. “The heading is actually a big thing too. We can be dangerous in the air. We’ll be putting in a lot of work in the preseason, I know Marco Escobar putting a lot of that on his shoulder.”
Escobar led the Panthers with 23 goals this season and is slated to be a senior captain in the fall.
“This puts him well over 50 goals in his career at KIPP,” Langlois said. “We’re expecting a big year out of him. That comes with a lot of pressure too, but we have a great group of guys surrounding him.”
BOYS SOCCER
Winthrop 2, Nashoba 0
The Vikings ended the season with the shutout win at Miller Field. Youssef Benchikhi and Zane Bower each scored one goal for Winthrop.
A young Winthrop team ends the year at 8-3-2.
“We only graduate four seniors and have a strong junior class,” Winthrop coach Kyle Gagin said. “The season went well. Despite all the issues, we managed to get through it and get eight wins. That’s really a testament to the hard work the guys put in.”
VOLLEYBALL
Revere 3, Somerville 0
The Patriots continued their strong start to the season with a three-set victory over their Greater Boston League foe. Revere won by set scores of 25-21, 25-8, 25-20.
Isabella Marinez had five kills to lead the offensive charge, while Sydney Ciano had five assists. Alexis Iacoviello had eight aces to lead the way from the service line.
Revere (2-0) travels to Lynn Classical Monday evening (5:30).
