Tewksbury U14-1 Boys win the Commissioner's Cup!

The Tewksbury U14-1 boys soccer team ended a terrific regular season by finishing first in their division, which earned them a spot in the playoffs. Those playoffs, called the Commissioner’s Cup, were held in Woburn last weekend and the Tewksbury boys did not disappoint!

 In this single elimination tournament, the first team the Redmen faced was Melrose.  Tewksbury got on the scoreboard first when Connor MacLean redirected a pass from Dario Riparo into the upper right hand corner of the net.  Not to be outdone, Melrose quickly tied the game at 1-1 

The Tewksbury offense kept the pressure on the Melrose defense and Tewksbury forward, Christian Lucchesi, was pushed down in the box earning Tewksbury a penalty kick.  Ryan Bain promptly put the penalty kick into the upper right hand corner of the net.  Unfortunately, the goal was called back because a Tewksbury player had moved too early.  Fortunately, Ryan was up to the challenge a second time and kicked it in again to put the Redmen up 2-1.  Tewksbury put the final nail in the coffin when Josh Cabral sent a curving cross kick in front of the net that Connor Blair headed in to end the game with a 3-1 victory for the Redmen.

On Sunday, Tewksbury took on a tough Lowell team, who they had lost to once and tied during the regular season.  The aggressive Lowell team was all that stood in the way of Tewksbury becoming the Middlesex Youth Soccer League champs.  The first half was a battle of the defensemen and there was no score until a Lowell player on a breakaway put the ball in the net, giving Lowell a 1-0 advantage at the half.

Head coach Norberto Felix and assistant coaches Don Bain and Scott MacLean must have given the boys a huge pep talk at the break because a minute into the second half, on a pass from Andrew Boudreau, Josh Cabral blasted one in the left hand corner to tie the game.  Lowell battled back and scored to take the lead again 2-1. 

The Lowell goalie made some great saves, but made an enormous mental error when he inexplicably dribbled the ball back and forth, rather than booting it downfield.  Forward Connor MacLean who was running downfield, smartly turned back and stole the ball from the goalie. He then easily kicked it in the net, to tie the game 2-2 and that’s how regulation ended. Because  it was for the championship, they would play 5 minute overtimes to decide on a winner.

During the first overtime, goalie Nick McKeon made a fantastic save against a lone Lowell player to keep Tewksbury in the game. Tewksbury’s defensemen and midfielders, John Donovan, Ryan Bain, Scott Callahan, Matt Bodini, Connor Blair, Alex Froment, Connor Callahan, and Alec DiCiacco  played stellar defense shut out Lowell as the overtime ended with no scoring. 

With the seconds ticking down in the second overtime, Ryan Bain had a throw in that he put in front of the net and both teams scrambled for possession.  Tewksbury won the battle as Petros Nacopolous got his foot on the ball and was able to put the winning goal into the net.  The players and fans went crazy, highlighted by Petros’ dad doing somersaults down the sidelines. The Tewksbury Redmen were rewarded for all their hard work and discipline during the long season as they were crowned Middlesex Youth Soccer League champions!  The boys’ Cinderella season continues as they head to Lancaster, MA this weekend to participate in Massachusetts Tournament of Champions and face the best soccer teams from all over Massachusetts.