September 10th: MC at Methuen

MC Rolls Through Methuen, 2-0
By: Daniel Rubin

    After suffering a disappointing 2-2 tie against Billerica on 
opening night last Thursday, the Malden Catholic Lancers soccer team traveled 
to Methuen to open up their road schedule against the Rangers on Tuesday.  
The Rangers, carried by an abundance of seniors, battled the Lancers 
tooth-and-nail for the entire first half, before MC's "war of 
attrition" eventually took control in the searing heat.  When the dust had settled and the heat had minimally subsided, MC went back to Crystal St. with a 
hard-fought 2-0 victory.
    The game opened with neither team grabbing momentum.  The play settled into the midfield as both teams entrenched themselves for battle.  Methuen 
seemed to have MC's number early, playing their defense in an offside 
trap.  
This means that whenever the ball is sent into the Ranger defensive 
end, the 
defense cheats up so that the forwards cannot get a breakaway.  When 
this 
happens, the forwards are called offside.  The trap victimized MC senior Andrew Doherty the most, as he was called off close to ten times in the first 
half alone.
    But the Lancers managed to get their chances.  In the first half, 
junior Tano Meola broke the tap as he sprinted towards the corner.  His cross to fellow junior Cory McKenna went towards the sideline, where Doherty 
picked it up.  Unfortunately, Doherty lost the ball, but MC retained possession with 
two consecutive throw-ins.  Neither were converted upon.
    Another opportunity came when senior captain Pat O'Shea sent sophomore Chris Rappoli.  Rappoli took a shot that had a phenomenal save put on 
it, and the result was a corner kick.  The corner was eventually tapped out by MC to 
give Methuen a goal kick, and the Rangers started to gain some 
momentum.
    Although the Lancers appeared to figuring out weaknesses in the Methuen midfield, the Rangers began to pressure the defense.  Senior captain 
Mike Sheehan made tremendous saves in net for MC, at times keeping his team 
from trailing by one.  Shots that seemed to go by him were stopped by diving 
catches and pickups.
    Malden Catholic took advantage again towards the end of the half in 
what might have been their best opportunity to score.  Tano Meola took a shot that beat everybody except the post.  The ball hit the inside of the post, 
ricocheting back in front of the pipes.  An ensuing shot was saved by the 
Ranger goalie, who kept Methuen in the game for practically every 
second.
    The next best chance came when Pat O'Shea scored.  There was just one problem: he was called offsides by the referee, negating the score and 
keeping the tie game at 0-0.  When the whistle blew, MC and Methuen were 
deadlocked.
    When the second half opened, the Lancers were rejuvenated with new 
strength.  They became hungrier, with an attitude that said that they 
were going to wear down Methuen and leave with a victory.  After two to 
three minutes of defense, highlighted by more great goaltending by Sheehan, 
MC took control.  Off of a save, Sheehan punted the ball towards midfield.  
O'Shea sent the ball past the trap to Andrew Doherty, who went one-on-one with 
the goalie.  The shot beat the goalie in the corner of the net, and the Lancers 
had a 1-0 lead.
    That was all they needed but not all they wanted.  Cory McKenna, having 
figured out how to cross on the trap, traversed the ball to Pat Mullaney.  
Mullaney dribbled in towards the net, burned the keeper, and scored his first 
varsity goal to put the Lancers up 2-0, which is where the score remained 
until the final buzzer.
    In a game that featured more heat than it was worth, the Lancers stood up 
to the challenge.  Junior Brendan Graf persevered through some problems on 
the field in the second half, being worn down by the weather.  After taking a 
couple breaks, he went back onto the field to play although clearly not 
one hundred percent.
    Other bright spots for MC were: senior fullback Steve Gravallese, 
who played in his first game since coming back from a preseason concussion; 
senior utility man Pete Carroll, who stepped up his play at numerous 
positions; the defensive backfield of sophomore Chris DiLorenzo, senior 
Jared Hickey, Gravallese, Carroll, and senior sweeper Joe Aronis, who, after 
a rocky first half, came together in the second half to put the clamps on the 
Ranger attack.
    Also contributing were: O'Shea, Meola, sophomore Brian McNaughton, 
McKenna, and Sheehan, who recorded his first, and most likely not the last, 
shutout of the season.
    The Lancers will be back in action on Saturday, when they travel to 
Xaverian for their first conference game against the Hawks.  The game is 
expected to begin at 10 AM.