LYNN — The Lynn Classical Rams and Lynn Tech Tigers boys soccer teams battled it out in a scrimmage Tuesday at Hood Park, where Tech ended up on top 3-1.
In what was an exciting twist, the game was a matchup of the Morenos, where Eric Moreno Sr. and his daughter Briana Moreno of Tech coached against son and brother Eric Moreno Jr. of Classical.
“It is great, we have been in two city finals against each other already, so we have played each other plenty of times, and his [Moreno Sr.] program is growing — it is the best I have seen so far, so I am just happy for him,” said Moreno Jr.
Gregoire Amissi was the star of the game for the Tigers as he showed off his speed and skill, scoring two of his team’s three goals. Jose Coral was a bright spot offensively for the Rams, notching their only goal.
While Tech came up with the win, it was indeed a story of two halves, according to Tigers’ Coach Briana Moreno.
“I feel like the first half we started off really slow. We have a lot of new faces — we are still trying to figure out positioning and things like that. The second half, I do feel like they were able to pick it up,” said Moreno.
She also mentioned that it was good to see the team play more on the ground in terms of passing and using their skill instead of trying to make tougher plays through the air.
“Passing the ball more on the ground — that is our type of play. In the first half, we were playing in the air a lot which we do a lot better on the ground using our technical skills and things like that,” said Moreno.
As for the Rams, even in a loss, Moreno Jr. was happy with how his team came out and competed.
“I think they did really well controlling the game; we were in their half for a really large amount of time. It was just a couple of counter-attacks, and a couple of goalkeeper errors happened. We are happy with the way we possessed the ball, and we were in their half because that is what we were striving to do,” said Moreno Jr.
“It is best to just get these things out now and move forward,” he added.
On the surface, scrimmages do not count against a team’s win and loss record. However, Moreno Jr. underscored the benefits of evaluating a team during these exhibition matchups, especially for new players trying to make the varsity team.
“It is your time to try new things that you see if they work or they do not work and to put bubble players out there. After today we are going to secure our varsity team — this was our last scrimmage before we were going to do that,” said Moreno Jr.
“Today was just like a last chance to really show why you should be on and fight for that,” he continued.
Moreno echoed her brother’s sentiment regarding scrimmages, saying it is a great way to emphasize things the team can improve on before the regular season.
“We really want to focus on better communication doing a better job saying man-on. We have a tough time with aggressive teams, so being a lot more high-energy — we struggle with teams that are taller and bigger than us, so just having that heart and motivation to be able to push through,” said Moreno.
While Moreno says the Tigers are not nearly playing at 100 percent of what they are capable of, as they continue to work, Tech could be a force to be reckoned with.
“When we match up to that level — our skills plus the technical skill plus the aggression — no one can stop us,” said Moreno.
Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
