The Westford Academy Boys’ Soccer team lost 1-0 against Lincoln-Sudbury High School (LS) in a close senior night game, making their season record 2-9-6. The game took place at WA on the Trustees Field on Tuesday, Oct. 28.
The first half of the game kicked off with the possession of the ball going back and forth. Lincoln-Sudbury was able to break through the Ghosts’ defense multiple times but was stopped short by senior goalie and captain Jack Bussey. The Ghosts were then able to clear the ball to the opposite side of the field and secure two corner kicks.
The game proceeded to be kept in a close stalemate with each team trying to score while also defending their goal. Attempts to score were made by both sophomore Gabriel Charbonneau and senior Marvin Kuch, but they were ultimately stopped by Lincoln-Sudbury’s goalie.
Lincoln-Sudbury got close to scoring many times, but due to WA’s tight defense, they were unable to take advantage of any of those opportunities. The first half concluded with a score of 0-0.
WA returned to the field for the second half with senior Ethan Marquez making a defensive slide for the ball, countering Lincoln-Sudbury’s aggressive offense.
“I think passing a lot more could have increased our chances at offense, but our defense today was really locked on solid,” senior captain Michael Mahoney said.
The Ghosts started to focus on their offense more in the second half with Mahoney obtaining the ball and racing past three of Lincoln-Sudbury’s defenders. He was then able to acquire a corner kick for WA. However, WA narrowly missed the goal, leaving the score at a tie.
The game then proceeded to go back and forth again until the ball eventually ended up on WA’s side. LS was able to break through WA’s defense and take a shot. Although initially Bussey was able to save the ball, the Ghosts’ failure to clear the ball allowed LS to gain a point, upping the score to 1-0 in Lincoln-Sudbury’s favor.
“We had nine out of 10 good plays and one bad play and that decided our entire game,” Mahoney said.
WA did not let that mistake stop them – it only made them more aggressive and motivated. With 20 minutes left, the Ghosts focused harder on offense.
A corner kick was secured with 15 minutes left, which gave the Ghosts another attempt at a goal. WA made an impressive play off the corner kick but narrowly missed due to the LS goalie.
Eventually, because of the opposing team’s stubborn defense acting as an obstacle to any aggressive plays, WA was unable to score, and the game concluded 1-0, Lincoln-Sudbury.
“It’s not that we played bad, I think we fought really hard, it’s just that we couldn’t get the chances when we needed them, and we couldn’t come out,” sophomore Aarav Chavan said.
This was the last game of the season for the boys’ soccer team. Their next season will begin in the fall of 2026.