Following a successful senior night, when the team beat its biggest rival, Weston, with a score of 7-0, the boys varsity soccer team had high hopes. They anticipated a win going into one of their last regular season games. Not only would beating Lincoln-Sudbury (LS) give the team an even better record, but it would’ve also have crowned them the Dual County League (small school) Champions. Despite not winning the game or the title, the team was able to tie LS with the final score being 2-2.

Within just seconds of the game starting, sophomore John Pordage was able to score a goal after getting an assist from junior Xande Santos.

However, the tone quickly changed as LS was able to gain a lead during the first half by scoring two goals. The pressure of getting a win was turned up a notch for Wayland as the team now had to get two goals in order to claim victory.

During halftime, the team went inside the field house to get a pep talk from Head Coach David Gavron and the captains. Going back onto the field, hungrier than ever for a win, the team huddled up and got right back into playing strong as soon as the halftime timer went off.

Under 10 minutes of the second half elapsed and Santos capitalized with a goal, causing the score to be a draw. The goal came off a pass from senior Leighton Quinn. Santos has fired on all cylinders, scoring eight goals so far this season. Now, all the team needed was to keep its defense strong, not let any goals into its net and also score another goal.

With time ticking on the clock, both sides attempted many shots on the goal. Although offensively Wayland was not able to score another goal, defensively, they kept the ball mostly on the opposing side of the field until the end of the game.

The team will travel to Xaverian Brothers High School for a non-league game on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 9 a.m.. Xaverian currently has four wins, eight losses and four ties, so record-wise, Wayland is dominant with its record being nine wins, five losses and three ties.

This game against Lincoln-Sudbury was a huge test for Wayland as playoffs are starting right around the corner. Since the team didn’t win the game, Bedford will be crowned the DCL small school title. The playoff tournament bracket will be announced on Wednesday, Nov. 2.

To view more photos from the game, click here. The password is soccer.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Credit: Sasha Libenzon

Senior Fred Czauderna sprints with the ball as he approaches the net. "I think we could've played much better, we weren't able to finish most of the shots and opportunities we had," senior Declan Murphy said. "We started off really strong, and then we kind of fizzled out out really quickly."