After suffering a disappointing loss to the Braintree Wamps in their first match of the 2010 playoffs, the Boys Soccer team looked to the future and began working towards the 2011 post-season. On Wednesday night, September 7, the Rebels returned to the pitch under light rain against a familiar foe – the Wamps of Braintree.
Walpole came out aggressive from the starting whistle and soon their tenacity paid off. Ten minutes into the first half, senior striker Conor Murtagh got a clear shot on net but just missed wide right. Murtagh got a chance to redeem himself two minutes later as he scored the first goal of the season giving the Rebels an early 1-0 lead. The Rebels weren’t done though, as senior Captain and fellow striker Tim Sullivan waited only a minute until he added a goal of his own. Sullivan expertly stole the ball from the Braintree defense and put it past the Braintree goalie with a nice shot. With only 15 minutes minutes taken off the clock, Walpole already had an impressive 2-0 head start on a talented Braintree squad.
After the early scoring flurry, Walpole eased up a bit and became more passive. The Wamps came within one with two minutes left in the first half as Braintree scored off of a penalty kick. Senior keeper Giorgio Sarkis guessed left on the PK, but the Wamp player kicked it right. The late score by the Wamps put them back in the game as the Rebels held onto a 2-1 lead as the half ended.
The second half had the same style of play as the majority of the first half – an evenly matched back and forth game. This pattern was broken near the end of the game as Murtagh struck again. With 4:18 left in the game, Murtagh scored again – this time off a header. Murtagh’s second goal sealed the win for the Rebels as they finished with a 3-1 victory over the Wamps.
“We came out with great intensity,” said Sullivan after the game. “Scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes was huge,” Sullivan added, “although we played well, we still have a lot of work to do before we reach our full potential.”
Although the first game isn’t always an accurate representation of what the rest of the season will look like, the Rebels at least showcased that they can play with some of the best in the Bay State. The Rebels look to improve to 2-0 as they face Natick on Friday, September 9.
