OA Boys' Soccer Ends Season With Loss to Weymouth

At the 24 minute mark in the second half in Monday night's MIAA Division I boys' soccer tournament game between Weymouth and , Weymouth captain Robbie Lynch touched the ball for the first time.

From the left side, the All-New England senior nailed a kick past OA goalkeeper David MacKinnon, then turned and ran screaming by the crowded bleachers at Weymouth High School. Despite the rainy night, Weymouth fans came out in droves and the stadium roared.

 The result was a 1-0 lead for the Wildcats, who failed to score against the OA defense in the first half of the game. It was the beginning of the end of the season for the OA Tigers.

For the No. 22 seeded Tigers, who lost the game, 2-0 to No. 6 seeded Weymouth, the game was a valient effort.

"We're a young team," said OA head coach John Barata. "We had a good year – so it was fun."

Barata said defending Lynch was no easy feat. Lynch touched the ball once more in the game. The result was an assist to Matt Fehey just before the 8 min. mark in the second half for Weymouth's second score of the game.

OA senior MJ DeDonato defended Lynch throughout the game.

"MJ did awesome," said Barata. "He was great. He shut Robbie down for most of the game. Robbie did what an All-New England Player does, and he was on the way to scoring and breaking our back."

Oliver Ames ended the season with a 5-8-6 regular season record and a first round playoff upset over Barnstable over the weekend.

Barata said, despite the loss, the Oliver Ames seniors never gave up throughout the game and the season.

"The seniors – they did great," he said. "MJ (DeDonato) was our leading senior tonight especially, and he definitely didn't give up. Jared Bloom was great. Sean Loughlin was awesome. Jacob Ring, unfortunately has been fighting injuries all year long. I thought he wasn't going to be able to play today because of injuries. Colm Grant is always pushing Dave MacKinnon. Alex Spenser is a little fireball for us. Matt Howard did a great job. All of them did great, really."

While the OA defense held off a powerful Weymouth attack throughout most of the game, the Tigers had difficulty capitalizing on offense.

The Tigers' best shot came shortly after Lynch's goal when OA's Kyle Arruda had a chance to tie the game on a penalty kick. Weymouth goalkeeper Scott Greenwood stood in the way, however, diving to his right to stop Arruda's attempt.

"It was a good save," said Barata. "I'm sure our guy is going to regret slipping as he went to take the kick."

Ultimately, Barata credited Weymouth for the victory. The Wildcats will play the winner of tomorrow night's matchup between Brockton and Dighton Rehoboth.

"I wish them luck in the future," Barata said. "They're definitely a very, very good team."