Lexington ends L-S’ title reign
It was going to take a strong effort to knock out defending Division 1 state boys soccer champion LincolnSudbury, and that’s exactly what Lexington delivered.
Lucas Aguirre scored in the 51st minute, and the defense never let up as the No. 10 Minutemen (14-5-2) upset the No. 4 Warriors, 1-0, to win the Div. 1 North title yesterday at Manning Field in Lynn.
“They gave us a good battle, and we are a stronger team for it,” Lexington coach Keith Beaty said. “They put us through the ringer, and that was good.”
After early pressure from Lincoln-Sudbury (13-3-4), the tide soon turned. Aguirre finally converted on a booming shot 11 minutes into the second half.
Lexington’s defense ruled the rest of the way. Goalkeeper Adrian Porras stood strong, making three stops in the final minutes, with Alex Lerner making a huge block that ended L-S’ chances.
Braintree 6, Needham 1 — The last time the No. 4 Wamps (18-3-3) tasted defeat was nearly a month ago at the hands of the No. 6 Rockets (13-4-7). The Wamps avenged that loss in emphatic fashion, scoring on their first four shots to win the Div. 1 South title in Milford.
“This is a team we wanted to play,” said Braintree coach Gary Burke, as the Wamps now face Lexington in the state semifinals on Wednesday (7:15 p.m.) at Manning Field. “This kind of validated us because they were co-champs with us and they beat us during the season. It was a nice win for the program, that’s for sure.”
The Wamps scored 3:40 into play when Stefan Jameson dished to Brian Carney for the 1-0 lead. About four minutes later, Ryan Mangan got through two defenders and deposited a shot for a 2-0 advantage.
In the 23rd minute, Vikendios Zahopoulos headed in a long throw from Shane MacNeil to make it 3-0.
Needham answered in the 36th minute when Vali TenBrook scored, but the Wamps responded with Mangan’s second tally three minutes later to take a 4-1 lead into halftime. In the second half, Zahopoulos and Liam Kelley each scored to complete the rout.
Boston International 3, Manchester Essex 1 — Secondgoals from Nelseen Gomes and Jesus Batiz proved to be the difference as the second-seeded Lions (17-1-3) knocked off the topseeded Hornets (17-2-3) to capture the Div. 4 North title at Manning Bowl in Lynn.
Boston International, which lost in this round a year ago, will play South champion Cohasset in the state semifinals on Wednesday (7:15 p.m.) at Norwell High.
“It feels so good to be on the winning side this year,” said BI coach Apolinario Barros.
Manchester Essex cut the 2-0 deficit in half on a goal from Thomas Birkeland, but Batiz slammed the door shut in the 70th minute.
Cohasset 5, Nantucket 0 — The No. 3 Skippers (17-3-1) turned the tables on the top seeds, as a hat trick by Chris Longo earned the Div. 4 South title in Brockton to avenge a tourney loss to the Whalers (19-1-1) last year.
“I just wanted to make my mark,” Longo said. “Last year we lost to Nantucket (in the South semifinals), and I thought about that a lot in the offseason.”
Cohasset also got goals from Cam Pattison and Vladimir Tserlov.