BOXFORD — The what if’s that Matteo Stefanelli played out in his mind actually came to pass Thursday evening.
“It’s crazy; everything I thought of before the game — what if this scenario happens? What if I get the game-winner? — happened. It’s surreal,” said Masconomet’s senior center back, who netted both goals in his team’s 2-1 victory over Beverly.
Stefanelli’s second goal, a rocket shot in the 73rd minute of play, came off a corner kick and snapped a tie game, keeping his Chieftains unbeaten (7-0-1) and atop the Northeastern Conference.
“I got hungry for the ball and used my body position to go get it. When I did, I just let the shot go,” said the 17-year-old Stefanelli, who has seven goals in eight games. “I didn’t even hear the crowd (after he scored; he and his teammates) just ran to the corner and I started screaming with joy.”
Head coach Jared Scarpaci, describing Beverly as “the best team we’ve played by far”, felt his club learned that while they may not create a lot of chances offensively, their ability to bury the ones they get was huge in this one.
“Matteo certainly is taking advantage,” said the veteran coach. “That (winning) goal, he just hammered it top shelf from the 18. You can’t ask for much more than that.”
In the first of two matchups between two of the NEC’s perennial powers this fall, Beverly had tied the game when senior captain and All-New England selection Connor Sullivan converted on a penalty kick in the 60th minute. It was his team-leading eighth goal of the year.
Buoyed by that strike, the Panthers (5-1 NEC, 5-3 overall) kept the pressure up in hopes of scoring the go-ahead marker before Stefanelli turned in the play of the match at the other end of the field.
“In every soccer game there are ups and downs, and I think we managed our ups pretty well,” said Beverly head coach Edgar de Leon. “We matched their intensity, too, which when you come up to Masconomet you have to do when you face them. But the down moment we had was when we took our foot off the gas a bit and allowed them to get that first goal.
“’We had a lot of moving pieces because of injuries to two starters and our center back (Henry Crafton) going down with an injury during the game, but at the end of the day I’m really happy with our game and how we responded.”
Both senior goaltenders each made a number of solid stops. Adam Porcello turned aside nine shots in the Beverly cage, with Soren Scarpaci (the coach’s son) making four saves.
Stefanelli gave Masconomet a 1-0 halftime lead after using his left (dominant) foot to rip home a Norman James pass at the far post 29 minutes in.
“Norman took it down the (right) line, crossed it back in and put it right on my foot,” said Stefanelli. “He executed it perfectly.”
With 10 sophomores on the roster, de Leon had five of them on the field at one point Thursday and was pleased with all five: Asher Stern, Max Fofack, Wilder de Leon (no relation to the head coach), and brothers Bodie and Sawyer Wagner.
“We created chances, and that all starts with Sullivan in the middle of the field. To me, he’s the best player in the conference,” said de Leon.
Masconomet also got strong play from some of its newest team members who are literally learning on the job. Outside backs Ken McCann and Colin Sutton, both sophomores, were singled out by Scarpaci for their aggressive and heady efforts, as was freshman midfielder Massimo Rullo — the first ninth grader to make the Chieftains’ varsity roster in 17 years.
Senior captain Nick Wedge at center back was also a controlling factor for Masco, along with the calming presence of enior captain and midfielder Luke Fiedler along with classmate Sam Costa, another mid.
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