Second Half Effort Powers Wilmington Past Boys' Soccer

The Marblehead boys soccer team hadn’t allowed a goal in 120 minutes of playoff action. Wilmington put an end to that streak in the second half of Sunday’s North Division 2 playoff tilt.

After entering halftime in a scoreless draw, the No. 3 seed Wildcats poured home four goals in the final 40 minutes and went on to eliminate the Magicians with a 4-0 victory.

“Wilmington was fast and physical,” said Marblehead mentor Scott Laramie. “That’s a good squad and I’m glad that we played them. That’s going to be a building block for next year.”

Just over two minutes into the second half, Wilmington took the lead for good with a goal off of a long throw in. The game’s second goal, however, wasn’t as cut and dry.

Wildcat forward flicked the ball towards goal, catching Marblehead’s goaltender out of position. The ball never found the back of the net, however, the referee ruled that it crossed the goal line before the Magician defense cleared it.

Wilmington put the game away in the final minutes with a pair of goals, ending the Marblehead season at 7-9-3. Wilmington, meanwhile, advanced to take on Bedford in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday.

Despite his team’s elimination from the postseason, Laramie said he’s excited about what his team can take out of their playoff loss.

“The fact that we just saw how fast this game is supposed to be played is the biggest thing,” said Laramie. “You can see it in your brain, but now you can take it out on the field next year in our own conference, our own division. We stayed with it through the end and that’s what we were working on. We just got beat by a better team.”