GHS Boys Soccer starts on the right foot

The GHS boys soccer team has started this season with wins against two very tough opponents. 

The season began on Monday. The Gloucester boys had gone 5 years without beating Marblehead, a testament to the consistent quality of Marblehead High School’s soccer program. 

This was apparent in the first half, as Marblehead controlled roughly 70 percent of possession through the first 40 minutes. The scoreboard read 0-0 at half-time.  

The second half looked much the same, Marblehead controlled the game but was without a goal. This changed 15 minutes into the second half when a powerful strike gave Marblehead a 1-0 lead. For the next 20 minutes Marblehead continued to control the game and it appeared that for the 6th year in a row, they would defeat Gloucester. 

With 5 minutes left, however, Owen Hardy intercepted a Marblehead pass at half field, and played a through ball to Andrew Coelho. Coelho controlled the ball and shot it to the far post, beating the Marblehead goalkeeper and bringing the teams level. 

Moments later, Coelho received another pass 25 yards away from the Marblehead goal, where he was fouled. Coelho set up the free kick and placed the ball perfectly into the far corner to take the 2-1 lead with minutes left. 

With 2 minutes remaining, Gloucester pushed forward once again as Coelho was taken down in the box for a penalty kick. Coelho, 1 on 1 with goalie, put the ball in the bottom left corner to complete the hattrick. The final whistle blew, securing a 3-1 win for Gloucester.

The team also had their home season opener on Wednesday with a game at Newell Stadium against Division 1 opponents Peabody Veterans Memorial High School. They team had a good start to the game when Coelho scored on a breakaway with the through ball from Anthony Suazo. Peabody didn’t back off from the challenge as they tied it before half-time.

Going into the second half with a score of 1-1, Gloucester was determined to regain the lead. But things weren’t looking good when Peabody scored ten minutes into the second half. 

Gloucester gained their confidence back when Captain Suazo tied the game after a good run past two defenders and a shot tucked into the bottom left corner. With the score of 2-2, the home crowd motivated the team to keep pushing.

25 minutes into the second half, Coelho crossed the free kick which flew right to Suazo’s head and into the back of the net, making it 3-2. 

Gloucester played some strong defense to hold Peabody in the last minutes of the game to pull off an impressive 3-2 win. 

Coach Armando Marnoto is proud of the solid start but knows that the team still has work to do. 

“Very good start this year, I felt that we were conditioned and were buying into the team defense first. And we’re able to finish against very good, quality teams. I think that has been the big difference in this part of the early season. Take it one game at a time, we’ve got Danvers next Tuesday and just build and get better everyday.”

The boys soccer team takes on Danvers on Tuesday at Danvers High at 6:30 where they will try to extend their winning streak.