LYNN — Hydration breaks included on an 83-degree Tuesday at Manning Field, Lynn Tech’s boys soccer team (1-0) took care of Lynn English (0-1) 2-0 in the first game of the city tournament.
“We’re very happy. We have a lot of new players on the team, so we’re just learning how to build off of who we lost last year and building that new chemistry,” Tech coach Briana Moreno said. “Honestly, I’m really happy with them.”
After a feel-out beginning – nerves, according to Moreno – the Tigers found their rhythm around the 10-minute mark.
Four minutes later with 6:23 remaining, Tech’s Dany Gomez cashed in. The senior midfielder collected a loose ball in front of English goalkeeper Byron Ramirez Cardona before trickling it into the bottom-left corner.
“They just attacked the net,” Moreno said. “It was off a shot and they finished it.”
Better yet, it was Gomez’s first game on the team.
“First game, first goal. It was awesome,” Moreno said.
The second half was more physical. Tech also moved its striker to the outside to “give us more opening in the middle” according to Moreno.
The result: a goal down the middle as stoppage time ticked away. Senior Felipe De Oliviera tucked one low past Cardona.
“We got Felipe De Oliviera on a breakaway and he finished nicely,” Moreno said. “We have a lot of skilled players. In the middle, on the outside, everywhere, really.”
First year English coach Valdrim Xhemajli called the goal a “miscommunication and lapse of judgment” as the ball got past a few Bulldogs.
“The second one was a little bit our fault,” Xhemajli said. “It happens during a long game like this.”
English came close, however. Jose Licardie, Alfredo Pablo Lopez, and Jhaminton Gomez Lopez all had scoring chances.
“I think we can work a little bit on our finishing,” Xhemajli said. “We had a couple of chances that really could’ve changed the game.”
One of those chances came with 20:55 remaining in the contest. English was in alone past Tech goalkeeper William Martinez, but Anthony Zavala bailed out his teammate with a save on the doorstep.
“Our defense, they amaze us every year,” Moreno said. “They had three very, very good saves.”
Other than a few loose balls that got by him, Martinez was “amazing” between the pipes, according to Martino.
“Even last year, there were very few goals scored on him, so we’re expecting the same this year,” she said.
Despite the season-opening loss, Xhemajli enjoyed his group’s intensity, especially from two of his top players.
“Our captain, Danny Lopez, I’m really impressed by him,” Xhemajli said. “Our forward, Alfredo Lopez, also played a really good game.”
Tech takes on St. Mary’s in the championship game of the tournament Saturday. But first, the Tigers travel to take on Shawsheen at 4 p.m. on Thursday, while English travels to Malden at 4:15 p.m. on the same day.
“It’s a very tough team we went against. You win some, you lose some. Hopefully, we can turn things around the second game,” Xhemajli said. “If we play like this the whole season, I’m happy with it.”
