Reprinted from the Crystal 99, September 25^th, 2002

qby: Daniel Rubin

                The varsity soccer team opened up the 2002 season with Catholic Conference hopes swimming in their heads.  While those hopes are still dancing around, a little more legwork will be needed to bring the hopes to reality.  After opening the season at 1-0-1 with a come-from-behind, 2-2 tie against Billerica and a 2-0 victory over Methuen, the Lancers have dropped two straight to conference opponents Xaverian and St. John’s Prep.

                MC has been led by senior Andrew Doherty and junior Tano Meola at the forward position.  Against Billerica, Meola scored the tying goal with less than a minute left.  He has also been a menacing presence up front with his 6-11, 195 frame.  Meanwhile, Doherty is among the league leaders in scoring, and his footwork has helped the Lancers move up field over opposing defenses.

                In the midfield, juniors Cory McKenna and Brendan Graf have led the outside, while senior captain Pat O’Shea and fellow senior Steve Gravallese have anchored the middle.  Against Methuen, Graf overcame the intense heat of the day to remain in the game although he was clearly not 100 percent.  On defense, senior sweeper Joe Aronis has been a force, along with sophomore Chris DiLorenzo and senior Jared Hickey.

                The goalie, senior captain Mike Sheehan, has also been very good.  He led MC to victory at Methuen, recording his first shutout of the season while making close-to-impossible saves.  But the Lancers have just not had enough to overcome their conference opponents.

                The Xaverian game for MC turned into a second-half disaster, as they took a 3-1 lead into halftime on just four shots, including one penalty kick by Doherty.  Unfortunately, the Hawks mounted a terrific comeback, cutting the lead until they grabbed the game with less than a minute remaining on a penalty shot, 4-3.

                The Lancers were back in action on Saturday when they hosted BC High. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed when they fell in their third straight game and third straight conference game, 3-1.