Font ResizeGROTON -- Over the past two weeks, the Groton-Dunstable boys soccer team has put together an impressive string of play. That continued on Tuesday afternoon as the Crusaders raced out to a 3-0 halftime lead en route to a 5-0 victory over Hudson in Midland League B play.
"We did what we need to do, which was come out and control the play," said Groton-Dunstable coach Sean Wiseby. "Over the last couple of games, we have done a great job of passing and getting opportunities. We didn't convert as much today as we have in the past, but we did enough for the win, which is always the goal."
It took just three minutes for the Crusaders to get what proved to be the game-winning goal. Following a yellow card on the Hawks, a free kick was sent to the middle of the box. The ball deflected off a pair of defenders to a waiting Mike Keating, who heading the ball over the charging goalkeeper to put Groton-Dunstable up 1-0.
Over the first 20 minutes, the Crusaders continued to keep the pressure up, putting eight shots on goal, but many were off the mark. After a bit of a dry streak, Groton-Dunstable picked up their second goal in the 22nd minute. A give-and-go between Nate Pomeroy and Nick Tornaritis got results when Pomeroy took the return pass and chipped it into an open net to make it a two-goal game.
In the closing minute of the opening half, Tornaritis and Pomeroy hooked up again, only this time the roles were reversed. Pomeroy took a free kick and delivered a great
"I thought we did a lot of good things in the first half, especially with our passing, considering the rainy conditions," said Wiseby. "Defensively, we didn't let them find any passing lanes. We kept the ball on their side for a majority of the half and we got enough scoring to where we had a cushion."
That cushion was extended in the 49th minute, when Doug Rosa got into the scoring column. The senior tri-captain took a pass from Tornaritis, who made a great run down the right side before sending the ball into the middle of the box, and lined a shot into the top left corner from 15 yards out to extend the advantage to 4-0.
Ninety seconds later, the Crusaders were at it again, adding the final tally of the day. Tornaritis capped off his big day by sending a cross to the middle of the box to Pomeroy, who settled the ball before flicking a shot over the goalkeeper and under the crossbar for his second goal of the day, making it 5-0 and helping move Groton-Dunstable to 7-2-1 on the season and 4-0 in league play.
"I think we are finally coming together and everyone is on the same page offensively right now," said Wiseby. "When our offense plays well, it carries over to our defense, which has been stellar as well. Right now, the goal is to keep playing well and try to hit our peak come district time."
