Sports
Stingy Defense Leads OA Boys Soccer Over Attleboro in Season Opener
Oliver Ames Goalkeeper David MacKinnon makes six saves while senior Connor McCormick scores the game's only goal.
As the reigning Hockomock League champions, thesoccer team expects to get the best effort from the other teams in the Hockomock League. did just that, and they were rewarded with a 1-0 victory Friday afternoon at Muscato Stadium.
In the first half, OA senior forward Connor McCormick scored the game’s only goal during the 14th minute as his shot from the penalty dot got past Attleboro goalie Spenser Powell.
From there, the Tigers’ defense, behind junior goalkeeper and co-captain David MacKinnon and sophomore defender David Stapleton, was able to shut down the Blue Bombardiers attack.
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“It’s a good way to start the season,” said OA coach John Barata. “Obviously the competition in the Hock is going to make it a very, very tough year for us.”
“They were the better team today,” Attleboro coach Peter Pereira said. “They hustled and beat us to every ball. We play more of a touch game and our touches were not there today. OA deserved to win the game.”
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Barata was more than pleased with his defense.
“We created some chances and it wasn’t a one-way game, so I was happy with that,” he said. “I liked that we worked really hard and we created some chances. We also had a great defensive effort from David MacKinnon and David Stapleton.
“Attleboro created a lot of chances. They created a couple opportunities and Dave [Mackinnon] came up and made a couple of great saves six minutes into the second half.”
Offensively, McCormick had a couple of solid chances on Powell after his goal, while senior co-captain Adam Karas also created a few chances of his own through his slick ball possession.
While there are a few adjustments to make early on, getting Attleboro in the first game of the season proved huge dividends according to Barata.
“Attleboro is going to be one of the top teams in the Hock again,” said the third year coach. “They’re the defending champs and they’re solid all around.”
Like Barata, Pereira understands that there are some things that his team needs to work on in the first game of the season and knows his team will improve down the road.
“We are going to get better as the season goes,” Pereira said. “It’s a long season and we have a good team. We’re going to be okay.”
OA will look to start the season 2-0 when they host Sharon Tuesday afternoon at 3:45. Attleboro, meanwhile, hopes to bounce back when it hosts its next-door neighbors from North Attleboro on Monday at 3:30 p.m.
