By MARC GAGNE
READING — Last Tuesday night, there was a battle between a pair of soccer teams ranked in the top 10 in Division 2, both teams eager to advance that ranking. The Warriors came out the victors, 5-2, and succeeded in vaulting to the top of the list in Division 2, a monumental accomplishment for this young team.
The high-scoring game against Reading was played on the road under the lights and was exciting throughout. Reading controlled the ball in the early part of the game and, just five minutes in, scored the first goal on a give and go that resulted in a successful shot from inside the box.
About 10 minutes later, Wakefield fought back when Mhamed Boukataya sent a long ball in the air to striker Jack Millward, who settled it around the Reading goalie with his chest and easily put it in the back of the net.
Just five minutes later, Millward scored again when he received a through ball from Matt Keefe, took a touch around a Reading defender and finished with a powerful shot from the 18-yard box into the top right corner of the Rocket goal.
Leading the game 2-1, Wakefield continued to stay on the attack. A long series of passes and touches led to Wakefield’s third goal of the night. First, a Reading free kick in the box was defended by Aidan Bligh, and the ball found its way out to Danny Kidder, who played it up to Alex de Morais. De Morais then fought for the ball with a Reading defender and kicked it out to Charles Gagne. Gagne sent the ball up to Boukataya, who tricked the defenders with a flick pass to Millward. Millward then dribbled up and finished in the bottom left corner for a hat trick, though he was not yet finished with his scoring.
Kidder, Bligh and Aden Stevenson contributed to shutting down Reading throughout the rest of the first half by making key defensive plays and blocking shots.
The second half opened up with Keefe forcing a corner kick for Wakefield. Guy Revah got his head on the ball, but his shot was saved by the Reading goalie.
Millward came through with his fourth goal of the night when Keefe pressured a Reading player and sent a through ball down to the Wakefield striker who rocketed the ball into the Reading goal once again.
Millward is currently the leading goal-scorer in the state.
When asked about this incredible achievement, he said, “It feels great to be the top goal scorer in the state. Scoring is a big part of the game, but I wouldn’t have accomplished this without the service of my teammates who are always finding and getting me the ball in dangerous spots as well as the coaching staff for coming up with tactics that help me succeed.”
The Warriors scored again to go up 5-1 after de Morais passed a through ball to Boukataya, whose first shot was blocked by the Reading goalie, but Boukataya was then able to get the deflection and the goal.
It looked like Reading was going to have a chance to score when a Rocket attacker trapped a shot deflected by goalie Kai Mercer. The Reading player’s shot was saved, however, by Nik Dhingra, who was standing in the goal in Mercer’s place.
Wakefield should have had the chance to put another point on the board when Millward was dribbling in the box and was obviously fouled, but no penalty was called.
Mercer made multiple saves throughout the second half, and the defense was effective in shutting Reading down. Reading was able to score one more goal late in the game, but the match ended with Wakefield ahead 5-2.
“That was a strong win for us,” Millward stated. “It puts us in a great spot to set ourselves up for success going forward. We have to keep playing as a team, stay disciplined and the winning will continue.”
The Warriors took on a good Division 1 team, Lexington, yesterday at home. The Minutemen ended up with a 1-0 victory on a goal in stoppage time. It was the first loss for the Warriors this season.
Wakefield (8-1-1) will travel to Melrose (4-7-1) tomorrow at 4:15 p.m.