Peter Conway
Staff Writer

Westford Academy Boys’ Soccer continued their momentum from Friday’s victory with a 3-2 win over rival Acton-Boxborough on Sunday. With this win, the Grey Ghosts have earned their spot in the upcoming playoffs.

Coach Tony Dileo said, “It was a team effort… everyone was organized and disciplined.”

With an irritating nip in the air, and a chip on both teams shoulders, the fans in the stands were about to see a battle. The Grey Ghosts were the first to set fire in the cold conditions.

Junior Kyle Pilachowski, fought the ball past two defenders and strode to the front of the net as the fans sat in silence. The Colonial’s goalie jumped forward to put an end to the play, but Pilachowski was aware and chipped the ball right passed the goalkeeper. The Westford bench’s and fans’ silence was thus ended just ten minutes into the game.

Only three minutes later, the Colonials tied the game right back up. A lapse on the defense led to an open man and loose ball. Sending a message of their relentless approach to the game, an AB player kicked the the ball past the diving senior, Sam Brewer, in net.

17:00 minutes left in the first half as, Captain, Shane Kilday lined up for a free kick. The opposing goalie was ill-prepared for the shot Kilday was about to deliver. 2-1 Westford; the crowd roared once again.

Acton-Boxborough responded with 12:30 left in the first half. The Colonial wound up for a corner kick and whipped it in front of Westford’s net. The ball was headed high in the air and Brewer seemed to lose sight of the ball in all of the confusion. The half ended in a 2-2 tie.

The first fifteen minutes went back and forth and it seemed the game was shifting to a stalemate. Coach Dileo recognized the need of a timeout. After play resumed, senior Eashan Jani entered back into the game, a decision Dileo would not regret as three minutes later, Jani drilled a loose ball into the back of the net for the game winning goal.

After the game Jani was asked how he felt about his accomplishment, he replied “Living the dream.”

In the last ten minutes it seemed as if AB was going to find themselves a goal. Shot after shot, Brewer held strong, diving twice in the matter of ten seconds to shut down a huge scoring opportunity. At this point the fans were on the edge of their seats.

Stopage time ensued and the Grey Ghost bench was on their feet. The win was right there, all they had to do was hold on. Gaining possession as the final buzzer went, the team exploded with noise and congratulated each other on their win. WA 3 – AB 2

The Ghosts look forward to the playoffs but understand they have a few more regular season games to take care of.

According to Dileo, “we say its a stepping stone; we played well, but need the consistency. With yesterday’s 5-1 win we need to keep it going.”