Westford Academy’s Boy’s Varsity Soccer took home a 5-1 win after a tight game against Lowell on Saturday, October 30, at Crawley Stadium.

The drizzle at 10 a.m. created a very cold morning, but both teams fought through. Westford set up their starting line to push a strong initial offense.

Within the first two minutes of the thirty-minute half, senior captain Ryan DiPietro (#7) took a left-side shot. Lowell tried to block but the ball got above the goalie and into the net, this gave WA the lead.

Westford took possession of the ball after many back-and-forth plays. Senior Aiden Stafford (#12) brought the ball down the middle, getting around many of Lowell’s defense. Stafford got the ball to DiPietro, who took a shot from the left corner. The ball got right past the defense and put Westford at a two-point lead.

Lowell continued to shoot attempts but WA kept its’ strong defense. DiPietro took control of the ball and brought it down the left side of the field. Lowell tried to block him but he takes a long shot from left field and makes it.

Lowell was three points behind after he made the shot and with the rain picking up, Lowell fought to get possession back. WA did not make that easy with an even stronger defense. Both teams fought for possession but the ball went back-and-forth between the teams.

WA brought the ball down the field but loses possession. Lowell kicks it out of bounds giving WA a corner kick. Senior Evan Stowell (#17) gets the ball right next to the goal but Lowell hits it out, giving WA another corner kick. Stowell takes the kick again and Sophmore Owen Markesich (#2) hits it in.

Leading into halftime, WA has a four-point lead and the morning isn’t getting any warmer.

Going into the second half, Lowell started with possession and took the first shot of the half, hitting the goal post which put WA in possession. Lowell’s offense got stronger but so did Westford’s defense, making the ball’s possession go back and forth.

With thirteen minutes left and Lowell five goals behind, WA decided to make a full-team switch. This took all the starters off the field and gave some of the newer players a chance to play. Lowell was able to use this and their strong offense creates more of a challenge.

A penalty was called on WA’s Sophmore Christopher Sell (#14). This gave Lowell a straight penalty kick, leaving just goalie junior Tomas Ho and Lowell for one shot. Lowell makes the shot-making it 5-1.

Once WA got possession back, Markesich pushed a hard offense and got the ball close to the goal. Lowell kicked the ball out of bounds and left Albuquerque a sideline kick. Lowell kept the ball out of the goal for the rest of the game.

The game ended with WA taking the game 5-1, putting them in seventh in the DCL rankings.

“I am glad to have been a part of this team, and I can’t wait to see how far the team goes next year with coach Jeff Lamy,” DiPietro said.