On Wednesday, Nov. 15, the Wellington High School boys soccer team hosted Dreyfoos for the regular season opener, falling short 2-1 against the Jaguars.
The Wolverines opened up the non-conference contest pressing the action, and seemed poised to strike the back of the net first, but the Jaguars settled on defense and nullified the early pressure by the Wellington offense. The first shot on goal did not come until 16 minutes into the match, by the Jaguars, but the shot was deflected by the Wellington goalkeeper.
Approximately 23 minutes into the first half, Wellington midfielder Jose Garcia scored off a free kick just outside the penalty area. Garcia took the shot from the spot, and beat the wall to place the shot in the upper right ninety of the frame. The stretched-out Dreyfoos keeper could not get a hand on the ball, and the Wolverines took a 1-0 lead.
With under three minutes left to play in the first half, the Jaguars were fouled 50 yards out from the Wellington goal. Dreyfoos striker Louis Dirienzo struck the ball, launching it through the air and over a leaping Wellington keeper for the Jaguar equalizer to tie the game 1-1. The Wolverines pressured hard on the Dreyfoos defense, but the Jaguars controlled Wellington’s attacks, closing out the half tied.
Dreyfoos came out aggressively to start the second half. In the first minute of play, Dirienzo struck again, this time beating the Wellington defense from the near side, and found the back of the net with a low shot from 12 yards out. The goal propelled the Jaguars into the lead for the first time in the game, 2-1.
Dreyfoos put the Wolverines on their heels in the last 10 minutes of the match, pressing the Wellington defense. Wolverine keeper Dominic Sirucek came up big late in the game, making two saves to keep Wellington alive for a possible rally.
But the Dreyfoos defense gave a solid performance, keeping the Wolverines out of the net for the remainder, and the Jaguars sealed the 2-1 win.
The Wolverines are 0-1 to start the season.
