The St. Mary’s boys soccer team (11-4-3) tied Greater Lowell Tech (8-2-2) on Saturday afternoon at Manning Field, 1-1.
During the stoppage time period, and with all hope seemingly lost, St. Mary’s Nick Miller crossed the ball from the left of the box and it deflected off a Gryphon and into the net – a heartbreaker for Greater Lowell; a miracle for the host Spartans.
“The [Greater Lowell] defense, they were pretty high up, so I just decided to take it myself,” Miller said. “I was excited.”
Just 33 seconds in, Greater Lowell fired a shot on goal from the box and St. Mary’s goalkeeper Jacob Guarino leaped to make the stop – slapping it out of bounds. Moments later, Guarino stopped a quick missile headed towards the bottom left of the net.
On a following Greater Lowell possession, the Spartans’ Brody McCarran anticipated a lead pass and intercepted. Moments later, Guarino made two more saves to rob the Gryphons in an active first 10 minutes for him.
At the 28:08 mark, Greater Lowell received a penalty kick after a chippy possession and capitalized to take an early 1-0 lead.
Box outs became more personal, and loose balls more important as the half became chippier with each passing minute.
Dylan Moroney of the Spartans was effective, using his speed to turn corners and create possession for his team. Minutes later, Thomas Weber recognized a one-on-one battle near the sideline, double-teamed a Gryphon, and forced a turnover as a result of his efforts.
Continuing his subtle, but impressive, first half, Moroney prevented a cross – leaping high to extend his leg and knock the ball out of bounds.
At the 6-minute mark, the Spartans’ Kaya Jackson sliced through the defense and was in alone on the keeper. Jackson was robbed on the doorstep, however, and no Spartans were there for the rebound.
The Gryphons’ penalty kick goal remained the difference-maker at half, and Greater Lowell kept its 1-0 lead.
“They [Greater Lowell] really pressed our defense,” Miller said. “We couldn’t really build up because of their pressure.”
At the 35:47 mark of the second half, another penalty in the box – this time on Greater Lowell – resulted in Jackson getting a penalty kick for the Spartans. His shot rang off the left post, and the deficit remained 1-0.
The Gryphons’ defenders were effective in their individual battles and closed out on Spartan attackers. St. Mary’s zone entries were applaudable, but the Spartans couldn’t run their set offense through 15 minutes of the second half.
Jackson had another chance, finding space between a sea of white Gryphon jerseys and firing towards goal from short distance. The shot was blocked, and time continued to dwindle down on the trailing Spartans.
St. Mary’s turned it around and delivered an impressive second half – its passes started to connect, and players became more determined to find the equalizer. In stoppage time, down 1-0, Miller’s cross did just that.
The Spartans tied the game, 1-1, leaving the Gryphons stunned, and now await their playoff seeding after finishing 11-4-3 on the season. Miller said that keeping possession and running a set offense will be the key to postseason success.
“When we have the ball, we’re a really good team,” Miller said.
