Late Goal Gives Westford Victory Over Woburn

Momentum can swing in an instant, and it certainly did on Saturday.

Fortunately for the Westford Academy boys' soccer team, that momentum swung their way after an earlier swing against them, letting them leave Woburn with a 4-2 victory in their MIAA Division 1 North preliminary round contest.

Early on, there was little question toward the dominant side as a series of strikes into Woburn territory finally resulted in a Kyle Russo followed through on a goaltending miscue with 28 minutes left in the first half, a tally that was followed by a pair of goals from Kurt Naugler before a halftime that would completely reset the shape of the game.

Out of the box in the second half, the Tanners fought back, as Valerio Silva got Woburn on the board with 25 minutes left from a strike outside from 30 yards out.

Westford squandered a golden opportunity from a free kick about ten minutes later and Woburn would make them pay as midfielder Phil Skerry slotted home the Tanners second goal with six minutes left in the contest, a score that was followed quickly by a second yellow card for Grey Ghost defender Jonathan Walsh.

"I think a little bit of it was fatigue since we hadn't played in a week," said Westford Academy head coach Tony DiLeo.

Down a man and facing a resurgent Woburn squad, the Ghosts were given another free kick just outside the box two minutes later on what Tanners head coach Paul Sands saw as a case of poor officiating.

"He took a dive in there, that referee on the other side didn't give us a call the entire game," he said. "I thought they were going to call it a penalty kick."

Regardless of whether it was earned, this time Westford was able to capitalize as Russo got his second goal to clinch the win.

Despite the braces for Russo and Naugler, DiLeo spread the praise for the victory.

“I think it was a team effort,” said DiLeo. “We had a whole week where we couldn’t do anything, and we really pulled it together today, it really was a total team effort.”

The Ghosts will now travel to Dual County League rival Lincoln-Sudbury for a Monday afternoon quarterfinal matchup.