Westford Academy boys’ varsity soccer lost to Lincoln-Sudbury in a lopsided match, with LS controlling the game for the most part, especially in the second half.

The game began hopeful for WA, with the boys controlling possession in the middle of the pitch for the first seven or eight minutes, and it remained a back and forth in the middle for about fifteen minutes into the game. While WA did most of the pressure during this time, they were not able to generate actual offensive chances on the LS goalkeeper.

Eventually, a break in this stalling of offensive action ceased when sophomore Derek Jones went down with an injury. He appeared to be holding his head, but when questioned by the referee, he opted to stay in the game and he was not subbed out.

LS quickly got one chance on WA freshman goalie Alex Wood and began to retain possession and pressure the WA defense. That defense caved in when LS scored on an offensive rush and overwhelmed Wood. At this point, there was seven minutes left in the first half.

Even after the goal, the relentless LS offense kept the ball in WA’s defensive zone. However, Nick Melhorn generated a big chance, but was stopped by great goaltending in LS. This was followed by yet another big LS save off of a WA free kick dangerously close to the net.

The half came to a close with LS still up 1-0.

The LS Warriors came out of their halftime huddle on fire, quickly putting up chances and pressure on Wood and the rest of the defensive squad for the Ghosts. One particular play at the very beginning of the half occurred when the defense broke down in front of the Ghost net and a LS player walked right into the crease, however Wood stood strong. Following this incident, WA began to get into a defensive rhythm and continued to clear out the ball as LS rushed in to attack. In fact, Wood was saved by an obvious offside violation by LS, however the player was close to scoring and would have had an easy chance.

This pattern of an LS rush and good defense by WA persisted through the majority of the second half, with WA unable to convert good defense into authentic offensive chances. The struggle for a Ghost possession became painfully obvious to the players and the crowd, as the fans went silent and the players stopped with incessant commands for their teammates. When any pressure arose from WA, they were quickly defended as well.

One of the few chances in this futile half came with a free kick close to the net, however that was also stopped dead in its tracks. Overall, the second half was full of stalemate for both sides. With one final scoring chance stopped with four minutes remaining in the match, the game was mercifully over for the Ghosts. Standout offensive players for WA included Derek Jones and Neema Saberi, with goalkeeper Alex Wood having an overall good game despite the first goal allowed.

Head coach Tony Dileo, however, was less than impressed with the team’s performance in the afternoon contest.

“We did not play well and there’s several things we need to improve for the next game’, said Dileo,’We’ve got to play more composed. That’s the important thing.”

The boys kickoff against their next opponent, Cambridge Rindge and Latin, at home on Friday, September 29 at 4pm.