Trueblood provides a spark off bench for Wayland
Wayland senior captain Michael Trueblood, who was given a yellow card in the team’s previous game against Arlington, was forced to come off the bench in a key boys’ soccer matchup at Dual County League Small opponent Concord-Carlisle yesterday.
But Trueblood made his minutes matter, assisting on Seth Harper’s goal to open the scoring, then netting the winner with three minutes left to hand the Patriots (4-1-2, 2-1-2) their first loss of the season, 2-1, and keep the Warriors (4-1-3, 2-0-2) undefeated in the highly competitive DCL Small.
“When he’s focused and motivated, there’s not too many players that can stay with him,’’ Wayland coach David Gavron said. “He’s a superior athlete. He’s worked extra hard to improve his ball skills and he’s the fastest kid on the field, so his combination of speed and skills really pressures the opponent’s defense.’’
With the score tied and the minutes waning, the Warriors’ Griffin McGrail dribbled down the left side and crossed the ball into the 18-yard box with Trueblood streaking in. In one swift motion, Trueblood settled the ball 8 yards out, shielded it from a defender, spun around and fired a rocket into the left-hand corner of the Patriots’ net.
“It’s a huge win for us because it’s in the DCL Small, but now we’ve proven we can beat one of the best teams in the state,’’ he said. “I’m just thrilled they had a chance to experience success at such a high level against Concord-Carlisle.’’
Harper, Wayland’s other captain, kicked off the scoring in the 19th minute. Concord-Carlisle junior Will Toczylowski scored the Patriots’ lone goal six minutes later.
Hamilton-Wenham 4, Georgetown 2 - Junior midfielder Sam Martinez scored the third goal as the Generals stormed back from a 2-0 halftime deficit.
Ipswich 2, Manchester Essex 1 - Senior striker Robbie Dick scored the winning goal for the Tigers after assisting on the first goal.
Chelsea 5, North Shore 0 - Junior forward Elvin Merino netted three goals to lead the Red Devils (8-0-1, 6-0-1 Commonwealth Conference).
Woburn 1, Stoneham 1 - With one minute left, Spartans’ junior Claire Mansfield scored for the tie.
Waring 5, Woodward 0 - Sophomore midfielder Celia Balf scored her seventh and eighth goals of the season and added two assists.
Winchester 28, Burlington 29 - Burlington’s senior captain Amos Meeks ran a 15:29 around Horn Pond in Winchester to break the course record of 16:04.
Cardinal Spellman 24, Marian 34 - Katie Powers ran a 17:48 at the Cardinals’ 2.8-mile course and breaking the record of 18:06 held by Stephanie Nugent.
Milton 24, Weymouth 31 - Junior Mairead Kiernan ran an 18:09, shaving 15 seconds off the course record.
Norwell 36, East Bridgewater 18 - The Clippers’ Eric Scott shot a 3-over-par 38 on the back nine of Scituate CC to lift Norwell to 6-2-2.
Malden 44, Somerville 28 - Sophomore Mateo Pocconne and junior Ryan Donovan won their matches convincingly to help lead the Golden Tornadoes to victory in the Greater Boston coed match up.
Malden Catholic 258, St. John’s Prep 233 - Nick Maccario and Nick Pandellona each shot par 36 for the Eagles, who improved to 11-0.
