Kate Kelly

The Ghosts huddle in the middle of the field right before the start of the second half.

WA Boys’ Soccer defeated the Chelmsford Lions 3-0 in their final regular season game on Monday, Oct. 30, earning them the chance to move on to the Massachusetts State Tournament. 

Grey skies and constant rainfall started the game off with high adrenaline. Chelmsford won the kick-off for the first half as their offense coordinated quick and aggressive touches to get to the ball. Within the first two minutes, sophomore goalie Jack Bussey made a save for WA.

While skillful clearing from junior Bala Shuban prevented any shots for Chelmsford, the Lions’ defense responded in equal mobility to the Ghosts, making the game a struggle for control with such a slippery ball from the rain. Passes were missed in consequence to the ball’s condition and players on both teams struggled to maintain a balance with their acceleration. 

The first goal of the game was scored by senior Ethan Goff-Chervin with around 17 minutes left in the first half. After this initial goal, the Ghosts become more fluent in their movements and foot skills. Thoughtful passing and positioning by players like senior captain Lucas Albuquerque and junior Lucas DosSantos focused the game into Chelmsford’s half of the field. 

WA’s shots were hard and low to the turf, forcing the Lions’ goalie to remove himself from the net to save shots. Aggression was high in the frigid weather, and both teams received multiple foul shots for a variety of misconduct.  

One of these penalty kicks led to a cross to sophomore Michael Mahony, who just missed the top of the net, with a swift, upward clearance from Chelmsford’s goalie. With two minutes left in the first half, WA called a timeout and huddled to discuss the plans for their corner kick.

Back on the field, Albuquerque took the kick as the Ghost’s offense stacked near the box line to confuse the applied pressure from the Lion’s defense. Changing techniques from previous corner kicks during the half, Albuquerque passed the ball short to junior Prakruth Vikram, then quickly received it back, just skimming and missing the goal as the buzzer sounded seconds later. 

After a brief talk, the teams were back on the turf and WA took the second half kick-off. Strong punts overhead allowed the Ghosts to skip some passing and break the relentless Chelmsford defense. 

Goff-Chervin took the ball up the left wing on two occasions, giving his defender little space to maneuver and gaining WA a few throw-ins. Furthermore, the Ghosts utilized their feet, heads, and upper bodies to bounce the ball with control up the field. 

Both teams improved their first touches in the second half of the game, and even though the ball seemed to advance further into WA’s defense, Bussey ensured no goals for the Lions. 

With around 21 minutes left in the second half, Albuquerque took on the defense with tight dribbling, bringing the ball through center field and scoring with a powerful shot to the bottom right corner of the net. 

Players from both towns refused to yield to one another, and with 6 minutes left, a Chelmsford player received a yellow card, giving WA yet another free kick. While their victory was essentially ensured with less than 5 minutes in the game, the Ghosts did not bring their offensive pressure down. 

With a soaring kick to the right wing, senior Owen Markesich made a run to the upper-center field, firing an upward shot directly to the back of the net. With a 3-0 lead, the game came to an end moments after.  

“I thought the team played extremely well today,” Head Coach Andy Lamy said. “We talked all year about playing a full 80 minute game, and they did that today. They won every 50/50 battle and they definitely deserved the result they got today.”

Viewing the entirety of the game on field, Bussey provided a similar outlook to his coach, excited at the prospect of a State competition and a victory against a neighboring town such as Chelmsford. 

“We played really well, especially on the defensive side and I’m glad we could finish on open chances,” Bussey said. “Definitely one of our better games, this is special to us.”

Junior captain Nihal Mark also reflected the same satisfaction of his team’s performance, noting a few areas the team could improve upon, but was overall happy to solidify a win with such a solid point differential.

“We all played really well as a team and I’m happy to have come away with three points,” Mark said. “While we were really organized, sometimes we weren’t on the same page, but I’m happy we’re hopefully in States now.”

This victory was needed to provide the possibility of advancing to the playoffs, and official rankings will be posted on the night of Oct. 31 to determine if WA will have another game this season.