St. Charles boys soccer downs Westlake
Spartans score twice in second half to get past Wolverines
Wednesday felt more like fall and the winds were swirling on the soccer field, but St. Charles Spartans graduating junior Justin Frye didn’t mind.
“It felt great outside, and I feel like it felt like perfect weather for a game of soccer today,” Frye said.
The Spartans topped the Westlake Wolverines by a score of 3-1 in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac division matchup.
The Wolverines honored their 11 seniors for senior night on the field after the game.
“Having 11 seniors on this team and having them for three years of being here is just a great feeling to see them graduate, but I want to keep them here,” Westlake head coach Andrew Dutrow said.
Both teams battled for possession early on as balls through the air were having a hard time traveling far in the gusty winds.
With about 26 minutes left in the first half, the Spartans scored game’s opening goal.
Freshman Mateo Vasquez headed a ball from inside the box that found its way past Wolverines goalkeeper Levell Kenny and into the back of the net.
“I was just there and ready for the ball and called for it,” Vasquez said. “I just hoped it went in.”
Later in the first half with about 12 minutes remaining, St. Charles had multiple corner kicks but was unable to capitalize with a goal in the back the of the net on them. Frye had a shot from outside the box that soared in the wind high over the net.
Westlake’s best scoring chance came late in the first half with roughly four minutes remaining. Sanis Mahato had his free kick from just outside the box stopped by Spartans senior goalkeeper Rupert Stephens.
The second half started similar to the first for the Spartans.
With about 26 minutes remaining in the game, St. Charles senior Andrew McKnight snuck in behind the Westlake defense and scored on a shot to the bottom left corner of the net to up the Spartans’ lead to two goals.
Westlake’s Cameron Stacks had a free kick roughly five minutes later that sailed high over the net as the Wolverines searched for their first goal. With just less than 3 1/2 minutes to go, Westlake was awarded a penalty kick.
Mahato was sneak the shot able to past Stephens who got a piece of the ball, but not enough to stop its momentum from finding the bottom left corner of the net for the Wolverines’ first goal.
“It was a well-played game between both teams. Both teams really put all their effort in and worked really hard,” Dutrow said.
St. Charles junior Evance Fone added a goal late in the final minute of the game to spoil any comeback hopes Westlake had at tying the game and forcing overtime.
“It was a good win, we played OK. We could have played better,” Vasquez said.
St. Charles head coach Matt Chisholm was pleased with his team’s win.
“I thought we played well. We capitalized on a couple chances. It was not a perfect game, but we are trying to get better as the season has gone along,” Chisholm said.
The Spartans hope to ride their late season success into the playoffs.
“We started off the season pretty rough. It took us a while to find our formation and our shape with the right players in the right spots,” Frye said. “After taking our first win, we started getting our heads straight and started playing better and started getting more wins.”
St. Charles (3-9, 3-3 SMAC Potomac), the fifth seed, was scheduled to play at fourth-seeded Northern on Thursday in a Class 3A South Region Section II quarterfinal. The winner travels to top-seeded Great Mills for the section semifinals on Tuesday.
Westlake (0-11-1, 0-6), the sixth seed, is slated to play at third-seeded Calvert at 5 p.m. today in a Class 2A South Region Section II quarterfinal. The winner travels to second-seeded La Plata for the section semifinals on Tuesday.