Bishop Stang boys soccer wins revenge game against Dartmouth

Oct 15, 2022

The Bishop Stang boys’ soccer team evened the score against cross-town rivals Dartmouth High on Saturday, Oct. 15, beating the Indians 3-1 after losing to them 2-0 in the first game of the season.

Though Dartmouth possessed the ball well in the game, they were not able to convert their midfield success into goals, with their lone point coming from an own goal.

“In the final third, we just didn’t capitalize on our opportunities,” said Dartmouth Head Coach Josh Silva. “It’s been the story of our season, we’re just struggling to score in that final third.”

Meanwhile, Bishop Stang took a quality-over-quantity approach, putting up three points despite having fewer scoring chances.

Stang Head Coach Nate Greene attributed the attacking efficiency to the strength of his strikers, particularly senior Carter Dennis who had two goals in the game.

“Our striker, Carter, number nine, is so talented that we know if we just give him a couple of opportunities, a couple moments, he can make it happen, and that’s what we did,” he said.

Greene admitted that Dartmouth got the better of his team at the beginning of the game, exhibiting a tenacity that caught them off guard.

“The start of the game was all them,” he said. “They came out and were playing with a speed and intensity that we were not ready for. We looked a little flat in the beginning,”

But the momentum changed with about 13 minutes left in the first half, when Stang junior Spencer Menard scored the first goal of the game.

Even after a Stang defender scored a potentially costly own goal on a miscommunication with the keeper, the Spartans held their ground and did not give up another point for the rest of the game.

Part of Stang’s success was also credited to the team’s goalie, senior Chris Pacheco, who Greene said has developed quickly as a keeper.

“He’s very talented,” Greene said. “This is his second year playing goalie and every game that goes by he gets more confident… The intelligence that he’s putting in, along with his natural ability, is making a huge difference for us.”

Despite several chances in the second half, including one shot that deflected down off the crossbar without crossing the goal line, Dartmouth could not get one by Pacheco.

Instead, the Spartans played the counter attack, scoring twice with Dennis on deep runs that helped him get behind the Dartmouth defense.

Moving forward, Silva said the Dartmouth team will have to play harder and work better as a team in order to have success in the rest of the season.

“We’ve just got to pick up our communication — I felt like that was lacking a bit — and our effort in general,” he said.

Dartmouth, now 4-7 on the season, will play its next game at Durfee High on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m.

Bishop Stang (8-2-2), will move on to play Bishop Feehan at home on Monday, Oct. 17 at 4 p.m.