LYNNFIELD — This one was way too close for comfort.
You have to think that a No. 31 seed is a decided underdog against a No. 2 seed, at least on paper.
While that may be the prevailing consensus, the Northbridge Rams came to Pioneer Stadium Monday night and showed that it’s what happens on the field that counts. The Rams, while losing the battle of possession and shots on goal (15-2), gave as good as they got, utilizing a stifling defense to keep the Pioneers off the board for nearly 70 minutes.
But senior captain Dhimitri Dono was in the right place at the right time on a corner, heading home the game-winning goal off a perfectly-placed corner taken by junior exchange student Alessandro Raimondi with 10:30 left to play, sealing a hard-sought 1-0 win in the first round of the Division IV tournament.
“I thought Northbridge played a very good game,” said Lynnfield coach Brent Munroe. “We couldn’t figure them out and were trying to find a way to just get one. That team played very hard. They were never out of position and were organized and well-coached. We couldn’t pull them out of position to get in behind them.”
Rams head coach John Battista said he was proud of the effort his team gave.
“We’re a young team with only three seniors and without a bench. We don’t have a deep bench, and they gave it everything they had,” Battista said. “This Lynnfield team has a lot of good players and they are a No. 2 seed for a reason. As a 31 seed, we had nothing to lose and they put it all out there. We had our chances and they netted one in the late minutes, but I could not be more proud of these guys. They came here ready to, as they say, ‘shock the world,’ and they nearly did it.”
The Pioneers did everything but score in the first half. Dillon Reilly, Joel Anthony, Tyler Maddocks, and Rocco Scenna all had quality chances, but couldn’t break through.
The second half was more of the same. With about 20 minutes left, the Pioneers ramped up the attack. With 11 minutes remaining, Reilly smartly shielded a Rams player to allow the ball to go over the end line, giving the Pioneers a corner kick. Raimondi floated the ball into the box, where Dono found an opening and made good on his header, his sixth goal of the season.
“You have to tip your hat to them. That was a beautiful goal and it wasn’t a cheapie,” Battista said.
“Dhimitri hasn’t been a scorer for us all year until the last part of the season,” Munroe said. “He and Dillon haven’t really been practicing because of some injuries and we didn’t even know if they were going to go in the game today, but I’m glad they did. That was a great goal on a perfectly-played corner. I don’t think there was anything they could do to stop it.”
After that, the game got physical with bodies hitting the ground everywhere, but the referees let them play.
“I don’t think the referees were at fault that it got a little rough; there was a lot of emotion at that point,” Munroe said. “That’s what happens in tournaments.”
Munroe praised the play of Scenna, Chris Calanan, and Raimondi.
“Those guys, and a lot of our guys, played well in possession because we had possession a lot,” Munroe said. “They were hard to break down. I also thought Matt Reinhold played very well. He broke through and almost got to the net a couple of times and had some really good opportunities. It’s hard to win some of these tournament games because the teams that get here all know how to defend, so it’s hard to play from behind.”
Lynnfield keeper Kelan Cardinal wasn’t tested much (2 saves), but had sure hands when he needed them.
“He’s done that for us all year,” Munroe said.
Munroe felt the game might be headed to overtime with about 15 minutes to play.
“We felt that if we got up at that point, it would be hard to come back,” he said. “We certainly didn’t want to give up any chances, but knew we had another 20 minutes if we had to, and I’m glad that we didn’t.”
The Pioneers will play the winner of Monday’s game between No. 15 Millbury and No. 18 Abington (TBD).
