RallyNorth.net

Vikings cruise to easy tourney victory over Maimonides

Friday, November, 02 By Rich Slate
Staff writer

For a team that hadn't been in the postseason for the past six seasons, the Rockport boys soccer team made its first tournament game look like old hat.

The 17th-seeded Vikings simply overwhelmed the No. 16 Maimonides with a 7-0 victory in the preliminary round of the Division 3 North state tournament. This contest had been decided long before the final whistle. Six different Rockport players found the back of the net, led by senior striker Florian Roell, who had two goals.

"It was kind of what I expected," said Rockport head coach Dave Curley. "We're coming out of the Cape Ann League where we're tested every single game. It really makes the kids battle hard."

Playing in front of a large home crowd, Rockport didn't have to wait long to get its first goal. In the ninth minute, Roell opened the scoring as he headed a corner from teammate Derek Osmond into the Maimonides' goal.

After a couple more great chances for the Vikings, they capitalized on a Maimonides hand-ball in the box. Osmond calmly stepped up to the penalty spot and drilled a shot into the upper right corner, putting Rockport up 2-0 in the 20th minute.

The game was effectively ended in the 24th minute, as Rockport senior midfielder Cory Emerson crossed a perfect ball with his left foot that teammate Scott Noble finished with a flawless header.

Curley cited the early goals as a key to his team's success, while also effectively taking Maimonides out of it.

"Scoring three quick goals, it doesn't help us so much as it made it difficult for them defensively," said Curley. "They had trouble clearing it and we capitalized."

Roell added his second in the 38th minute, a blast from inside the box which gave his team a 4-0 advantage going into the half.

"The kids relaxed and moved the ball around, we played to our strengths," Curley explained. "We had more numbers than they did and we basically wore them down."

Rockport sophomore striker Michael Emerson pounced on a loose ball in the 59th minute and scored while Sam Scatterday chipped one over Maimonides' goalie in the 65th minute. The Vikings added one more strike in the 71st minute.

Things figure to get much harder as Rockport will travel to No. 1 seed Shawsheen (11-2-5) on Sunday (1 p.m.).

Rockport vaulted into the tournament by tying Masconomet then beating Manchester Essex, 1-0, in its final two regular season games. Two results they had to have. With this preliminary round win, the Vikings | a senior laden team | seem to be peaking at the right time.

"The kids are confident but not overconfident," Curley said. "If we bring our 'A' game, we'll be able to play with everyone in this division.

"To beat Shawsheen, it would be great to score early to take the pressure off. We're going to need our goalies to make two or three big saves. The seniors have all been stepping up; they've really picked it up lately."