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The Winchester High boys soccer team opened up its season with a 1-1-1 record. They shutout Wilmington on Sept. 2, 7-0, but then was shutout by Arlington two days later, 2-0, before tying Stoneham on Monday, Sept. 8, 1-1.
Last year, the Red & Black ended up with a 7-5-4 regular season record, and were the 34th seed in the final Division 1 power rankings. They then went on to lose to Newton North, the 31 st seed, in the preliminary round of the state tournament on penalty kicks, 2-1. The Tigers eventually took on St. John’s Prep, the fourth seed, and defeated the Eagles in regulation by the exact same score to win the state championship.
Coach Vin Musto is once again keeping 28 on the varsity roster, and it’s comprised of 17 seniors, 10 juniors and one sophomore. Musto likes the way this team is structured from top to bottom.
“We are a very well-balanced team that can possess, attack, press and protect,” the coach said. “But we are still working on our consistency of maintaining that high level of play throughout the entirety of a match, not to mention the season overall.”
Center midfielder Khadir Kumaran, center-backs Marvin Li and Casey Trumbower, and forward Cole Queenan are this year’s captains.
Before the three aforementioned regular season games, the Winchester boys had three scrimmages to get ready for the next three months. They defeated Chelmsford in the Medford Jamboree on Aug. 23, 5-0, and blew away Arlington Catholic on Aug. 27, 9-0.
“It was a great experience for us to play these scrimmages to prepare for the regular season,” said Musto. “We were able to identify our strengths and weaknesses, and can now work on making our weaknesses our strengths.”
Opening up against two Middlesex League teams last week was no simple task, but it didn’t surprise Musto. “There are no easy matches in the Middlesex League. Any one of these teams can beat any other team at any time if you are not prepared,” he said.
Cooper Harris is Musto’s assistant coach, who also doubles as a mentor for the goalies.
The Red & Black closed out this week against Woburn, and will begin next week against host Melrose on Monday, Sept. 15 at 4:15 p.m. They will then be taking on host Lexington two days later at 6 p.m.
