Ipswich edges Triton 1-0 on second-half Justin Foye goal

Very busy afternoon for Triton goalie Mark Anthony Glickman against Ipswich

John Werner (15) lines up a shot

(Byfield MA) You knew it wasn’t Triton’s day when the best chance they had all game never happened.

The Vikings were awarded a direct kick from close to the right sidelines in the closing minute. Everyone moved in close to the goal, including the entire Ipswich team. The kick was about to be taken when the whistle sounded ending the game.

“They had that great opportunity at the end,” said a relieved Ipswich coach Greg Scruton afterwards.

The Tigers were winners 1-0 in Cape Ann League boys soccer on an overcast Monday afternoon. Rain was predicted but never happened.

Ipswich (3-8-2) had chances galore throughout this one but the combination of misfires and the goalkeeping of Mark Anthony Glickman frustrated the visitors.

The Tigers broke the scoreless tie eighteen minutes into the second half.

Chase Gagnon sets up the only Ipswich goal.

Justin Foye kicks the game winner

Tigers celebrate their only goal

The goal scorer (Justin Foye) drove home a shot that he never thought would go in. “I wasn’t expecting it to go in,” he told me afterwards. “I saw a kid in front of me and the goalie was behind him. I shot it anyway and it went through the defender’s legs and past the goalie.”

Senior Chase Gagnon set Justin up. Chase broke down the right side and put the ball back into the middle where Justin was wide open to receive the pass.

“We practice getting the ball to the winger and then cutting it back,” said Coach Scruton. “It was a great set up and a good finish. That was the first assist for Chase this season.”

Mark Anthony Glickman goes down for a shot by Justin Foye

The loss was a tough one for the Vikings (1-11-1) especially the way it ended with them missing out on the best chance they had all day.

“I thought we worked hard,” said Triton coach Dave Mitchell. “They had more of the advantage of play, but we hung in there well.”

Both coaches marveled at a second-half sequence in which sophomore defender Brendan Dennis refused to allow Ipswich a second goal. Justin Foye put a shot over junior goalie Mark Anthony Glickman that was heading for the net. Brendan kept that out and then blocked two other shots to deny the Tigers.

Defender Brendan Dennis (5) saves a goal

“He (Brendan) made three stops in a row,” said Coach Mitchell. “We practice situations like that.”

“We had plenty of opportunities to score,” added Coach Scruton. “Their goalie made some amazing saves and #5 (Brendan Dennis) kept the ball out of the net as well.”

Coach Dave Mitchell

Coach Mitchell is trying to bring back a soccer program that has won only four times in the last 2+ seasons. “We need to work on our first touches and our technical skills. Most of this group will be back next year and so we’re optimistic.”

The Vikings hustled and encouraged each other throughout the game.

Coach Scruton was pleased with his team’s defense: “We were disciplined today. Jacob (Eliopoulos) did well at center back and our two outside backs cut down any through balls for us.”

One thing there were plenty of in this game were corner kicks. All of them were by Ipswich and they were all taken by Jake Scruton. The Ipswich sophomore had the skill to put the ball right where teammates were in the middle of the box. GK Mark Anthony Glickman somehow managed to keep those Ipswich chances out of the net.

I like the turf field at Triton. It is fast with true bounces.

I asked senior goal scorer Justin Foye about his college plans: “My top two right now are Merrimack and Endicott. I am interested in engineering.”

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)