Winchester Soccer Wins Opener against Stoneham, 2-1

Coming off back-to-back Middlesex League Championships, Winchester boys soccer got a strong start on another run at the title with a 2-1 victory over Stoneham.

The game was delayed one day due to the remnants of Hurricane Isaac, but when the whistle blew on Thursday, the Sachems were ready.  They struck twice early in the game.  The first goal came after Zach Samson blasted the ball at the net and it rebounded off the Stoneham keeper to Marino Espiga who buried it in the goal. A few minutes later, Espiga broke through the defense for a one-on-one with the keeper; he chipped the ball sweetly over the keeper's head to put the Sachems up 2-0.  Espiga almost had a hat trick after Nick Stern was fouled just outside the box.  Espiga took the direct kick and fooled the Winchester fans into celebrating another score until it became clear the ball sailed just over the cross bar and landed on the top of the net.

Stoneham got on the scoreboard about half way through the first half on a controversial handball called in the box.  The resulting penalty kick flew past a diving Chris O'Connell, hit the post, ricocheted off the back of O'Connell's outstretched arms and rolled into the goal.  That was O'Connell's only miss on the day, as the Sachems' keeper played a strong game, making several outstanding stops in the second half to protect Winchester's 2-1 lead.  O'Connell was supported by the strong defensive work of Dan Boulanger, Alexi Taliadouros, and Evan Carey.

Next up is Wakefield at Winchester on Saturday, Sept 8.  Then Watertown at Winchester on Sept 11 and Winchester at Reading on Sept 13.  Check the complete schedule at http://www.usatodayhss.com/team/winchester-high-school-winchester-ma/boys-varsity-varsity-soccer/scores-and-schedule and come support your team.