Middlesex Season Twice as Nice for Wildcats Soccer

Wilmington has a strong history of success on the pitch. But Monday was one of the most memorable days in Wildcat soccer history.

The Wildcat boys and girls soccer teams defeated Wakefield on Monday night and with their respective victories, clinched Middlesex League titles.

Wilmington’s boys team thumped the Warriors, 4-0, to improve to 5-0-1 in their last six games while the Lady Wildcats escaped with a 2-1 decision to win the league crown outright after sharing the title one year ago.

“Last year was special because we didn’t know what to expect in our first year in the Middlesex League,” said girls head coach Sue Hendee. “But it is definitely nice to not have to share it with anybody else.”

For the boys team, defense has been no problem throughout the season, but offense was sparse early on. In their last four games, however, Scanlon’s charges have piled up wins by a combined score of 12-0.

Scanlon said his team’s success is exciting, but not necessarily expected.

“I thought we’d be good, but didn’t know if we’d be good enough to win the league,” said Scanlon. “We’ve made our bones on defense. When we weren’t scoring, we weren’t giving up anything either. You get confidence scoring goals. Once you start doing it, you see the kids getting more comfortable.”

Hendee said the depth of the high school program is behind the recent success for the Wildcats. The junior varsity team is undefeated on the season, and the eighth grade team won the state tournament last year.

Similarly, Scanlon said the town’s feeder program has led to a strong crop of players.

“When you have the luxury at looking at 75 kids to fill three teams, there is a lot of solid talent to choose from,” said Hendee. “Even though we’ve been strong in the past couple years, the future is bright as well.”

Both coaches said they are using the remaining games to get their teams in a playoff mentality. There are just a few days left in the regular season before the postseason begins next week.

Hendee and Scanlon both said they will use their remaining practices to work on penalty kicks with their players in the event that a playoff game comes down to the format that both coach admitted they aren’t much of a fan of.

In addition, there’s a possibility of a major day of sports on the horizon. With the field hockey team also earning a berth in the playoffs, athletics director Ed Harrison is hoping for an ideal situation that would allow him to host a playoff triple header at Alumni Stadium. 

“That would be great. Pay your money, and come down to see all three of them,” said Scanlon. “For the sports community in general, it would be a huge day. I know all of the teams pull for one another, so the kids could come support their classmates. It would be quite the day.”