LYNN — The Lynn Tech Tigers boys soccer team is headed to the city tournament finals after coming back to beat St. Mary’s 2-1 in a game that went to penalty kicks Wednesday at Manning Field. Tech notched three goals in the shootout, while the Spartans scored two.
Heading into the game, the Tigers had to use a formation they were not planning on using because some players had missed practice.
“I am a very disciplined coach, and a couple of the players did not show up to practice; they had been skipping practice and everything,” said Tech Head Coach Eric Moreno. “I had to go with a different formation because they were not present, so I needed them to understand that sometimes I need to make adjustments because I want everybody to go to practice – I want everybody to be disciplined.”
The formation the Tigers played seemed to hurt them for the first half, as they were having a tough time getting quality scoring chances.
St. Mary’s was able to take advantage of Tech’s struggles later in the first half when Nick Miller had a beautiful run in which he was tackled in the box to draw a penalty kick. Kaya Jackson then stepped up for the penalty and buried it, giving the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
Going into halftime down a goal, Moreno knew that his team had to do many things better to tie up the game.
“We said, hey listen, guys, we are down 1-0; we need to do better. We need to play our positions better, we need to win the ball better, and we just have to come out as a team,” Moreno said.
The Tigers clearly got the message and came out firing in the second half with multiple great chances. Kevin Yuman and Gregoire Amissi just missed goals with shots that whistled over the crossbar.
A turning point for Tech came with around 25 minutes left in the game with the Spartans on the break. Tech’s goaltender Pedro Bamaca made an incredible leaping save to keep his team in it. As regulation time waned, the Tigers finally broke through.
Amissi scored after a scramble in front of the net, and Tech fans erupted, and with five minutes remaining, all the momentum seemed to be with the Tigers.
Neither team could score a late game-winning goal though, so the game headed to penalty kicks. In what, on the surface, could be looked at as an interesting decision, Tech elected to switch goalies. Like a closer in baseball, William Martinez entered the game for the Tigers in a move that paid dividends.
Each team matched the other for the first four rounds of penalty kicks, and each team scored two goals during the shootout while the goalies also made some remarkable saves.
The matching stopped in the fifth round when Amissi stepped up – he kissed the ball before his shot in what ended up as the kiss of death for the Spartans and scored. With a trip to the Lynn tournament finals on the line, Martinez shut the door, making a save to clinch a Tigers’ victory.
In what was a bitter loss to swallow, Spartans’ coach Shane McCarran was impressed with his team’s mentality.
“The boys, they came out mentally strong, ready to win the game. Our style of play – we are going to be a high-pressure team that counter-attacks, we are physical, fast, and we are skilled,” McCarran said.
“We are short on numbers, but we are big on heart. It is a real competitive group, and they treat each other like family; it is fun, so it will be a good year,” he added.
With Tech’s impending finals matchup with either English or Classical, Moreno’s message to his team is straightforward.
“The message is very simple – never underestimate your opponent. Whoever wins between Lynn English or Classical – it will be a totally different game even if we played them in a scrimmage or whatever,” said Moreno.
“We just have to prepare with the same mentality – the mistakes that we made today and the things that we did not do good that we can do better; that is what we are going to do in the next game,” he continued.
Michael Coughlin Jr. can be reached at [email protected].
