DANVERS — Soccer, veteran head coach Dave Crowell admitted, can be a cruel sport.
Thanks to Garrison Murphy and Matt Droggitis, however, Crowell’s top ranked St. John’s Prep squad wasn’t on the receiving end of such brutality in its season opener Tuesday.
After visiting Milford knocked one off the Prep left goal post, the counter attack found its way back in the visitors’ end and Murphy picked up a loose ball and booted it home for the only tally as the Eagles won, 1-0, at Glatz Field.
“They hit the post, we got a counter attack and someone cleared it to Joe DiCesare, who played a through ball,” said Murphy, now 100 percent healthy after an injury riddled 2024 junior season. “Their goalie didn’t come out to get the ball; I guess he just muffed it, so I got it and kicked it around him and into the net.
“Coach Crowell is always telling us in practice, ‘Always run through and follow through any play, because someone might make a mistake.’ Their goalie made one there, and it helped us.”
“That was a terrific goal by Gary. He never gave up on the play,” said Crowell.
All three of Droggitis’ saves came in the first half as he and his defenders, including Ryan Levis, Gus Nugent, captain James Minor and, playing his first varsity game, sophomore Andrew Wenzel, severely limited the Hawks’ scoring chances for the majority of the second half.
Levis made the defensive play the contest, scrambling between the pipes to make a save with his right foot after a Milford forward drew Droggitis his way on a 2-on-1 break before crossing it back into the middle for a clear shot on a seemingly open net.
In front of them, midfielders Michael Hutchinson, DiCesare, captain Finn McCabe and, after senior Matthew LeBlanc was hurt in the opening minute, junior Marcus Obodai came in, and all were instrumental in helping the Eagles control the pace of play in the second half.
“Milford was a really good team, physical, moved the ball well and kept us from doing what we wanted to do in the middle of the field early on,” acknowledged Crowell of his club’s Hockomock League foe. “But I think our depth wore them down; we really locked it down defensively. I thought we owned the second half.”
Crowell praised the play of junior right wing J.J. Koulalis, saying “he sets a great example for us with his work ethic.”
Both teams had scoring opportunities turned away during a first half that saw offensive swings in both directions. Droggitis made a diving stop in his crease to deny Milford’s Matteus DeJesus in tight 11 minutes in.
Just four minutes later, Eagles senior wing Ryan King made a great run down the right side, collected a through ball and had a clear look at the net. But Hawks goaltender Iuri Silva (6 saves) came out of his crease to cut down the angle and gathered up the blast. King had one more chance to put St. John’s Prep on the board before the halftime whistle, but his shot ticketed for the right side of the Milford net from inside the 20 was denied by a diving Silva.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of victories,” said Crowell, “but you have to grind them out. I thought that’s exactly what we did today. It’s a great reminder that every team is going to bring their best against us.”
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