LYNN — The St. Mary’s boys soccer team (1-0) advanced to the next round of the Lynn city tournament with a 4-0 win over Lynn Classical. Behind a hat trick from Kaya Jackson and another goal from Nick Miller, the Spartans’ attack clicked.
“I feel like we had moments where we dominated the game and moments where we were the more creative team,” St. Mary’s co-coach Eddie Mercy Kisakye said. “However, I feel like we need to demand a little bit more from these guys. I feel like we lacked some creativity that we’ve seen in our practice sessions.”
Despite scoring four goals, Kisakye believes his team needs to be more clinical.
“We created a bunch of chances, but we didn’t put them away,” Kisakye said. “If we’re going to be the team that we set ourselves up to be, we have to finish chances. That’s something we’re going to work extra on.”
When asked about Jackson’s hat trick, co-coach Shane McCarran was full of praise for his attacker.
“It’s a great start to the season for Kaya,” McCarran said. “He’s a kid who works hard and scores a lot of goals. He came out on fire and proved it.”
After a controversial overturn gave them a free kick, the Spartans opened the scoring in the first half off a set-piece. Jackson slotted one past the Rams’ goalie to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead 15 minutes into the game.
“The first goal was always going to be important,” Kisakye said. “We actually told our guys that we can’t go 15 minutes into this game without a goal. For them to respond to our demands was excellent.”
On the opposite bench, Rams’ coach Eric Moreno was not happy with the call.
“I think the referees really impacted the game,” Moreno said. “The first goal they scored came off as we initially had the free kick. Then, the refs talked to one another and just reversed the call and then they allowed them to go on a quick play.”
The match was 1-0 in favor of the Spartans at halftime.
In the second half, St. Mary’s doubled its lead when senior Nick Miller chased down a loose ball – saving it from going out of bounds – and beat two Rams before finding Jackson who fired in his second goal (2-0).
“Nick is one of the most hard-working kids. Not just on this team, but around the area,” McCarran said. “He’s a kid who works 24/7. We sit back in awe watching how fast he is.”
From bad to worse for the Rams when they were reduced to 10 men after a second booking – a call Moreno didn’t believe warranted a sendoff.
“In the second half, you get an early second booking on a yellow which I thought was really harsh to get a red card when the game was that close,” Moreno said. “Especially since players on the other team were getting just as many warnings but no booking for the same questions of the referee. I was just puzzled and a bit disheartened on the sidelines.”
Playing 11-on-10, the Spartans took advantage, adding two more goals to close the game 4-0.
McCarran was pleased with his team’s defense.
“Our defense is our core. It’s always nice to get a shutout,” McCarran said.
Despite not agreeing with the officials, Moreno acknowledged that it’s a long season, and he liked the character shown from his team.
“Our players hung in and worked until the end – despite how things went. They wanted to keep going. They have good character,” Moreno said. “It’s just one game. There are 17 games left. Sometimes, the ball doesn’t go your way, and sometimes, that’s how it is at times.”
