Windham boys’ varsity summer soccer squad falls against Yarmouth

By Matt Pascarella

On a hot evening, Windham’s boys’ varsity summer soccer team traveled to Yarmouth where they fought hard for two halves on Thursday, July 11, but ultimately fell 1-0 to the Clippers.

Windham senior Preston Stretch sends the ball back into play
during a boys' summer soccer game on Thursday, July 11 at
Yarmouth High School. PHOTO BY MATT PASCERELLA   

“This is good for us, it’s a learning thing,” said Windham boys’ soccer coach Jeff Neal. “We’re trying to figure out some spots on the field right now; we’re trying to develop a next man-up mentality. We’ve got some guys in the rotation that maybe haven’t played a team like Yarmouth yet. It’s a good wakeup call for us. I’m pleased with the response, we’ve made some adjustments tactically, late in the second half and we got [Yarmouth] back on their heels a little bit. We want to be not as passive but preemptive in regard to not only how we defend but how we move the ball. We got to get off our heels and be more communicative about what we’re doing with the ball and our intent. There were times where we tried to push it when we shouldn’t have pushed it. There were times where we shook off a ball that was the right ball to play but we just didn’t see it because we weren’t communicating. These are all early season things. The good news is there were moments when we were doing those things and it showed.”

According to Neal the great thing about summer is that there is no pressure; kids get the opportunity to play different spots and try different things as the team tries to find out who they are.

Early on, Windham was aggressive and stayed with the ball and worked to get in front of the ball. Their defense limited scoring opportunities for Yarmouth, though in the first half, Yarmouth scored shortly before the end of the half and led 1-0.

“In the first half we were really struggling to step to the ball; we were letting Yarmouth control the game,” said Windham freshman Sean Lebel. “We weren’t connecting passes with the midfield and the attack. We made that adjustment at halftime, and we were able to push the ball more and attack more on the offense. Everything starts in the summer, so we have to make sure we are going 100 percent right now and as it gets closer to the season, we have to make sure we are putting in the work and we’ll be ready for the year.”

In the second half, Windham’s intensity remained and continued passing the ball well. Windham senior goalie Lukas Hammond had several excellent saves. Windham defense prevented Yarmouth from scoring again. While Windham worked hard going after the ball with multiple shots at goal, they weren’t able to get anything in the net.

“I think playing such a strong team helped us see where we can improve,” said Windham senior Carter Engelman. “We’re a bit worried about finding replacements for the players we lost last year, but we found a lot of people who might be able to fill those roles.”

Engelman said confidence is the key to succeeding going forward. <