The growing geographic rivalry between Wilton-Lyndeborough and Mascenic added a new chapter Monday as the visiting Warriors got their first boys’ soccer win over the Vikings in years.
WLC had not beaten Mascenic in any boys’ varsity sport for quite some time; since 2022, when Mascenic dropped to Division IV and began playing the Warriors more frequently, Wilton’s boys’ soccer team had done no better than a 0-0 tie in 2023. That all changed Monday evening in New Ipswich, where the Warriors picked up a 3-0 shutout win over the Vikings.
“Last year we were winning 1-0, and they beat us 5-1,” WLC head coach Dan Nelson said after the game, “so this was a good win for us.”
The Warriors controlled the ball in their offensive end for most of the game and led the entire way after scoring in the 22nd minute on a corner kick from Charlie Mayes to senior captain Nate Gill. Nonetheless, the young Vikings executed their game plan; while the Warriors dominated in terms of shots on goal, Mascenic played them into taking longer attempts than the visitors would have liked, most sailing high over Viking keeper Wesley Desrosier’s head and over the crossbar.
“That’s what we wanted,” said first-year head coach Kevin Thompson, who served as assistant for several years before taking over this fall. “Keep them to perimeter shots, low percentage shots, keep in mind the clock. It was designed to be that way and it was that way.”
It was corner kicks that did the Vikings in. After holding Mascenic scoreless, WLC scored twice more in the final minutes of the game on two more set pieces, one knocked in by Arrion Murphy and another by Italian exchange student Tommaso Alboroghetti. WLC, trending in the right direction, improved to 5-1 on the season, while the Vikings, who made it all the way to the D-IV semifinals last year before graduating 10 starters, fell to 0-5-1 on the season and find themselves on the defensive more than in previous years.
“It’s funny,” Thompson said. “It’s a role reversal. I remember playing Wilton for years where Dan would pack it in [defensively] … and they just frustrated us. Turnabout is fair play, so we just packed it in and frustrated them. It’s nice to see the ebbs and flows of the local towns. There’s not dominance, it’s up and down.”
WLC looks strong, with Alboroghetti in the middle making plays, captains Gill and Korey Begley leading the way, Vinnie Anzalone flying all over defensively and new keeper Jason Caragher playing well in his first varsity starts.
“There’s two words that I use on my team right now,” Nelson said, “it’s communication and conditioning. We almost lost against Holy Family because of our conditioning, which led us to not communicating…We’re lucky enough to have enough skill to allow ourselves to get conditioned and stay healthy as the season goes and we’ll get better. But right now, you just hope everybody stays healthy during that conditioning.”Mascenic is rebuilding – a little disappointing for the seniors, Thompson said, like captains Desrosier, Chase Sasner and Chuck Phillips, who are nonetheless leading their team expertly.
“It’s tough on the elder statesmen,” Thompson said. “They’re always used to playing up. They’re good enough to play up. They were freshmen on the team and progressed with a good core. And now they’re asked to lead and it’s a totally different dynamic. It’s tough on kids to go to the semifinals last year and then to rebuild is tough to ask for a senior class. But these kids aren’t giving up.”
Mascenic (0-5-1) plays at Concord Christian on Friday. WLC (5-1) was set to host Sunapee Wednesday night after press time and then Farmington-Nute Friday evening.