It could not have been a better evening for a soccer match, as the skies were clear, the air was chilled, and Boston City FC were set to take on Seacoast United Mariners under the beautiful Boston lights. Boston were coming off of a great team win against the Rhode Island Reds, a 3-2 result. Tonight would be more of the same as BCFC took all three points in a 1-0 home victory over the Mariners.
It appeared to be another slow start for Seacoast United as Boston City FC kicked off in a hurry and did not step off the gas pedal once the entire game. The Mariners were pushed back to their own net for the majority of the first half as Boston City FC hounded the rival goal. It seemed like a reoccurring theme as BCFC would string five or ten passes together, get a shot off, regather possession, and take it from the top once again. It was a first half of missed chances for BCFC though as they easily could have been up two or three goals heading into the locker room at halftime, but were forced to settle for just one.
The lone goal of the half (and the game) came off of a thunderous shot by Homero Morais from a shocking 35 yards out and fell right into the bottom corner, leaving Mariners goalkeeper Blake Mullen motionless.
Only minutes later, Boston City FC would suffer a huge loss as Jhonata Batista went down and immediately reached for his ankle. The medical staff came storming onto the pitch, but luckily with a little assistance Batista was able to hobble off the field. After the unsettling loss of Batista, BCFC struggled to find their rhythm and towards the end of the half were seemingly lucky to not concede a goal and return to the locker room still one goal up.
From a spectator’s point of view, one had to think that once the teams stepped back onto the pitch, the game would be completely different. But that was not the case here today, as Boston City FC resumed the game just as they had left it. The Mariners simply had no answer as every individual battle was won by BCFC as well as every 50/50 ball, aerial dual, and mental clash. If it were not for Blake Mullen’s countless saves and BCFC’s uncharacteristic finishing, this game might have been over long before the final whistle.
The second half followed a similar script to the first half, minus an exceptional strike from quite some distance and a terrible loss of a teammate. Although, both teams did orchestrate some spectacular plays as BCFC hit the post twice after miraculous build-ups. And Seacoast United came close on a few occasions, the most significant chance being in second half stoppage time as they pulled their goalkeeper for a corner kick and nearly hit the target. Even though the last five minutes of each half were all Seacoast United, it could not compensate for Boston City FC’s constant thrashing the previous forty minutes in each half.
After a beautiful evening at Malden Catholic High School, the wide margin between two teams on the field was defined by a narrow scope of one goal on the scoreboard. Ninety minutes of soccer had gone, and Boston City FC had overtaken the Seacoast United Mariners by a score of 1-0.
