WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High boys’ soccer team earned point in each of their last two games, both played at their home Walton Field, improving to 1-2-2 on the season.
The Warriors picked up their first win of the year on Wednesday with an exciting 4-2 decision over Stoneham. Wakefield followed that up with a 3-3 tie against Belmont.
The shorthanded Warriors bounced back from a slow start against the Spartans, erasing a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead at halftime before breaking the game open in the second half and then holding off a Stoneham comeback bid to win it 4-2.
Playing without senior captain Matt Keefe and starting goalkeeper, sophomore Kai Mercer, the Warriors found a way, especially after falling behind when Stoneham took a 1-0 lead 16 minutes in.
That goal shocked the home team and their fans as the Warriors were on the front foot until that point.
With some inspiration from their leaders to get right back into it, Wakefield did just that as junior Alex De Morais found the equalizer on a missile into the low left corner.
Wakefield regained all momentum after this tally, almost finding another soon after on a great cross from senior Danny Kidder after a nice switch by junior Guy Revah.
With Kidder, senior captain Aidan Bligh, senior Aden Stevenson and senior captain Nik Dhingra anchoring the defense, the Warriors turned away any potential Stoneham opportunities during the tie game. Junior goalie Patrick Leary made a quality save on a free kick and started a break with a nice throw in which senior Mhamed Boukataya nearly had a goal after a nice run but was sent back by Stoneham’s charging keeper.
Sophomore Robbie Estrada created a nice chance for sophomore Aodhan Hagan soon after but Stoneham’s goalie was up to the task again, getting a finger tip on it to force a corner.
The Warriors capitalized on this chance when De Morais played the kick low and to the front post where Bligh deflected it in for a 2-1 lead with 5:49 left in the half.
Wakefield’s momentum carried over into the second half with three Warriors especially standing out: Hagan in the midfield, Kidder on defense and Boukataya up front.
The three helped create multiple chances early in the half before sophomore James O’Connor put one in off a rebound from a Boukataya shot which hit the post, making it 3-1 with 25 minutes left.
The visiting Spartans never quit, taking advantage of a rare Wakefield misstep in the defensive zone to make it 3-2 with 11:25 to play.
Rather than tighten up and defend, the Warriors got back to aggressive soccer. De Morais earned another assist with a perfect feed across the Stoneham box where junior Eddie Meneguello Jr. buried it for the insurance goal, sending the Warriors to a 4-2 victory.
Wakefield welcomed an always-tough Belmont team to Walton Field yesterday.
The Warriors took a 1-0 lead into halftime after sophomore Ryan Millward scored on a corner kick in the final minutes of the first.
Belmont tied it in the second half but the Warriors went up 3-1 after tallies from Meneguello and O’Connor both also on set pieces.
With time winding down, the Marauders got one back just like in the Stoneham game, only this time, the Warriors succumbed to the pressure as the visitors found another before the final whistle for the 3-3 tie.
Wakefield will hit the road for their next four games, traveling to Burlington (0-5) tomorrow night at 6:15 p.m. for a Middlesex League Freedom Division tilt before getting a week off to prepare for a key visit to Watertown (2-0-4) on Sept. 24.
“We’re excited about the season ahead,” said Wakefield head coach Matt Angelo. “The boys have come in with the right mentality and we feel like we have the culture, leadership and talent to compete at a very high level.”
