LYNN ― It was the boys’ turn on Wednesday evening to take the field for the Lynn City Soccer Tournament.
The Lynn English Bulldogs walked away victorious, scoring the lone goal in the match in a 1-0 victory over the St. Mary’s Spartans.
The Spartans come into the 2021 season with some experience in hand. Still, they boast a young roster led by captains Ryan Fraher (senior), Richie LeBrun (senior), and junior Connor Hamel.
For the Bulldogs, last season ended with a 3-0 loss in the Greater Boston League title match to Revere. English also experienced some roster turnover with 11 seniors graduating last season.
English head coach Kerry King said that the city championship means a lot for his team, even though it is represented by eight new starters.
“I can’t say enough about the effort of these kids today,” said King. “To beat a very good St. Mary’s team, they played their hearts out today.”
Lynn English senior Jalen Coriolan had a flash of skill in the third minute of the match, blowing by his defender with some fancy footwork, but unfortunately he was unable to find a teammate with his cross into the center of the box. Fraher would put on a show of his own in the 19th minute to earn St. Mary’s a corner, but the Spartans were unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
For the majority of the first half, each side was feeling each other out. Both teams traversed their way to the pitch but failed to convert on the chances they created.
This was partly due to some quality defending by English’s backline with junior Dario Gomez leading the charge to protect the defending third for the Bulldogs. Gomez made some impressive tackles while also managing to get his body in front of a few shots.
English got another chance to score in the 28th minute, but sophomore goalie Jacob Guarino answered the bell and made the save for the Spartans. Guarino continued his impressive play with some point-blank stops in the second half.
Head coach Mike D’Agostino couldn’t say enough good things about his keeper after the match.
“Jacob’s a stud,” said D’Agostino. “He’s been with me for a couple years now and he’s a great player. He’s very smart, very keen on where to be, very agile in net and he’s definitely going to keep us alive this year.”
The first goal of the match was scored by Lynn English’s Danny Lopez, who found the ball at his feet and was able to rifle a shot into the net in the 18th minute of the second half. That goal was all that the Bulldogs needed to secure a victory.
St. Mary’s tried to claw back into the match with an advantageous free kick with eight minutes left in the match but luck was not on their side as the shot whistled over the crossbar.
Both teams will return to the pitch on Saturday.
