Last Tuesday, the Wayland Warriors played the Acton-Boxboro Colonials at home and lost 1-0, but followed up with a 1-0 win against Waltham later in the week.
The AB Colonials are ranked high in the state and best in the Dual County League. “Unlike our previous games, we knew that we were clearly the underdog,” said the Wayland Coach, Guy Enoch.
In the 20th minute, the Colonials won the ball off of a goal kick and found a shot on the 18. The shot hit the bottom right corner for the game-winning goal.
“AB is clearly a step or two above our level, but we were able to keep our pressure on the ball, especially in the second half, and hold AB to only 6 shots on goal,” said Enoch.
In the second half, the Warriors fought to keep the ball off their side and were successful.
“We played really good team defense, and I was very proud of the team,” said Enoch. “We even had a couple of late opportunities. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough against a team like AB.”
“I think that this past week we were a second half team once again. (Despite the) loss to AB on Tuesday, we played our best defense so far this season,” said captain Lindsay Shelton. “Unfortunately, they (AB) were able to finish when we had a lapse on defense.”
On Friday, the Warriors were back on the road and played at Waltham. The Hawks were playing with pace and intensity and almost scored in the first five minutes.
Waltham was awarded a direct kick from outside the 18, and they took no time to set up. The Waltham forwards immediately took the kick, before Wayland defense had a chance to set up, and the shot went just wide of the far right post.
After the kick, Wayland started to play more frantically. “We had two tough practices… the team was a little tired and frustrated,” explained Enoch.
Going into the second half, there was still no score. In the 65th minute, junior Claire Nishioka scored when the Waltham goalkeeper was not able to handle the ball. The ball was fumbled and became the game-winning goal.
“I’m glad that we came up with a win against Waltham,” said Shelton, “It shows that we are able to bounce back and keep fighting.”
After the goal, the Warriors picked up the playing level and finished the game for their fifth win of the season, making them 5-1, one of the best starts in Wayland Girls Soccer history.
“Even though our game against Waltham was less than spectacular,” concluded Enoch, “We got the job done. Nishioka has been a scoring machine for us.”
Wayland will face two strong Dual County League opponents away this week. On Wednesday WHS plays Arlington, and on Saturday night they will face Tyngsborough for a special homecoming weekend event for the Tigers.
