SALEM — The Gloucester boys soccer team traveled to Salem on Monday afternoon in hopes of snagging their first win of the season.
Unfortunately for the Fishermen, a talented and more experienced Salem group came out determined to spoil those aspirations.
The Witches played sound defense throughout and were able to send home two goals, ultimately securing a 2-0 victory over their Northeastern Conference rivals.
“I’m pleased that it was a tight game. Our back line played fantastic with Sam Young and Finn Costa playing in the backfield,” said GHS head coach Armando Marnoto, his young team now 0-8-1 on the season. “So we’re coming along defensively. What we have to work on now is just connecting as we transition forward; we’re not there yet.”
Brian Mbombap would set the tone early for Salem by taking it himself and putting it past the outstretched arms of Gloucester goalkeeper Treyton Bushfield for the first goal of the game in the opening minutes.
Despite his team’s early deficit, Bushfield made a couple of incredible saves throughout the game and even had some help from his teammates, with Jacob McLain jumping in and saving a goal in the second half to keep his team in the game.
It would not be enough to stop Salem, however, as Nile McManus would put the finishing touches on his team’s triumph by taking it all the way at goal himself and finishing to finalize the scoring with just two minutes remaining in regulation.
“I thought we had strong possession most of the game. A few good chances, we just couldn’t find the net,” said Salem head coach Padraic Slattery. “The second goal took a while, (and) the last couple weeks it’s been hard to get the ball in the back of the net, but we finally did it.”
The two-goal offensive output marked the first time Salem had scored more than one goal since a 6-2 win over KIPP Academy Lynn nearly three weeks ago. Since that clash, the Witches had managed just two total goals in five games, posting a 1-4-1 record during that span.
The underclassman really stood out in Monday’s win for Slattery in what was largely a sluggish game all the way down to the end. Needless to say, the future is certainly bright for a few Salem players.
“I thought that Finley Rogers stood out today, a freshman, didn’t start, but he played about 40 minutes today,” said Slattey. “And he’s getting more and more minutes as the games go on, so I am proud of his performance. Lachlan Brierley, another freshman, played great too, and then our senior captain in the back Guywintz Jules always plays great.”
Gloucester will continue to grind and search for an identity as they delve into their remaining regular season schedule. Next up is a winnable tilt at Saugus (1-8-1) on Wednesday afternoon (4:30 p.m. start).
This Fishermen, a very young squad, are still looking to click offensively, yet they’re also starting to adapt to the level of competition that they face on a daily basis.
“We’re a young team, but because of that, other teams are taking advantage of our size, our speed, or lack of speed. So we just got to get better with that and hope to start scoring,” added Marnoto.