LYNN — The Classical boys soccer team took a while to warm up Thursday evening, but ultimately left Manning Field victorious after defeating Malden High School by a score of 3-0.
Classical head coach Eric Moreno said he was pleased with how his team performed.
“We’re playing well now,” he said. “We’ve got a little three-game unbeaten streak so we’re starting to hit our stride now. Hopefully, we can continue it and stay humble.”
Both sides started the game off with some impressive passing displays, but the first 10 minutes of the match were spent with the ball splitting time between both sides of the field. The Rams and the Golden Tornadoes struggled to maintain possession and create any dangerous scoring chances.
Both sides continued to try to stretch out the opponent’s back line with long direct balls, but were unsuccessful. Both groups of defenders did a quality job of dispossessing their opponents and getting the ball out of their half of the field. Junior Elzon Halimi, in particular, had some impressive tackles throughout the match.
Esteban Ventura created the first chance for either side in the 20th minute, but the Malden senior launched his shot over the crossbar. Classical’s best chance came in the final five minutes, as the team had a pair of free-kick opportunities; however, both attempts were unsuccessful. The Rams went on to have a bouncing ball in their opponent’s box, but Malden had multiple goal-line clearances to keep the game tied at zero.
While Lynn Classical continued to put the pressure on the Golden Tornadoes, the Rams were unable to find the back of the net in the early going.
Malden High got off to a roaring start in the second half. They were moving the ball well and were even able to get a breakaway within the first two minutes, but Classical’s Isaiah Diaz was able to make the save.
The Rams controlled possession more often in the second half, but were still unable to find the back of the net as the clock ticked past the 50th minute and a timeout was called on the field. Classical would continue to get free kick opportunities, but failed to turn any of them into goals.
But Classical finally broke through when senior Jair Alvarez blasted a shot from the top of the box into the back of the net in the 65th minute. The Rams added to their tally in the 70th minute when freshman Brayan Giovanny Rivas Lazo scored the second goal of the match for Classical to put the game away. Alvarez secured his second goal of the match in a stoppage game, which turned out to be the cherry on top for the Rams.
With the second-half scoring outburst, Moreno said he believed it was just a matter of the game working itself out.
“One team will wear down and then the opportunities will be present and if you are patient and you take advantage and you put them in the net then you put yourself in a good position, and I think that’s what happened tonight,” said Moreno.
Classical (3-3-1) now has three games without a loss and will face rival Lynn English on Tuesday (5:30).
