After ending its season with a ten win, five loss and three tie record, the Wayland boys varsity soccer team entered playoffs as the No. 10 seed. On Tuesday Nov. 7, the Wayland Warriors team hosted the No. 23 seeded Somerville Highlanders in the first game of the MIAA state tournament. Though it was a hard fought game on both sides of the field, the Warriors were ultimately victorious.

First half

The first half consisted of a strong Wayland offense, with the Warriors frequently gaining possession. Despite continuously testing Somerville’s goalkeeper throughout the half, the Warriors were unsuccessful in getting a goal in the first 31 minutes of the game. However, at 31 minutes in the game, junior Xande Santos tapped in the first goal of the game off a corner kick by senior captain Luke Caples, giving the Warriors a 1-0 lead.

Despite having a lead, the Warriors fought to keep their lead in the last few minutes of the first half. A near Highlanders goal, as a result of a free kick and header right near the goal line, was quickly booted out by senior Grayson Getz at 32:34, preserving the Warriors lead. Wayland also contested for another goal towards the end of the half, but the whistle blew for halftime and the score remained 1-0 Wayland.

Second half

Hoping to continue its lead through the second half, the Warriors entered the second half strong, connecting well with one another. However, a penalty in Wayland’s box resulted in a penalty kick for Somerville six minutes and 32 seconds into the second half. #17 on the Highlanders capitalized on the opportunity and sent the ball past senior captain and goalkeeper Jake Crawford, making the score a draw at 1-1.

Fourteen minutes following Somerville’s PK goal, #9 on Somerville scored the second goal for the Highlanders 20 minutes and 44 seconds into the second half, resulting in Wayland trailing Somerville in the last 20 minutes of the second half.

However, the Warriors didn’t lose their momentum and less than three minutes later, senior Fred Czauderna sent the ball into the corner of the Somerville net, tying the game at 2-2.

In the last 15 minutes of the game, the intensity between the Warriors and Highlanders increased tremendously, with close shots just falling short on both sides. Then, the whistle finally blew after 80 minutes, which meant one thing: it was onto overtime.

Overtime

The overtime round in the MIAA tournament takes a “sudden death” approach, which entails the first goal scored will win it all. Elapsed time works as follows: there are two 10 minute periods and if no goals are scored, the teams will enter a penalty kick shootout.

Both teams showed an intense start in the first 10 minutes of overtime, however, one team came out stronger than the other. At three minutes and 32 seconds into overtime, Santos fired the shot to win it all. The final score was 3-2 Wayland, ending the Somerville Highlanders season.

The Warriors will take on No. 26 seeded Marlborough at the WHS turf on Thursday, Nov. 10. To find out more information about boys soccer brackets, visit the MIAA website.