Published November 13, 2019

By DAN PAWLOWSKI

LYNN — The No. 13-ranked Wakefield High boys’ soccer team might need to break out the hand warmers tonight when they take on No. 9 Concord-Carlisle. The Warriors and Patriots will kick off at 7 p.m. on Manning Field in Lynn where temperatures are expected to hover in the low 20’s.

Wakefield arrives in Lynn coming off a 3-1 victory over Central Catholic in the quarterfinals thanks to the “Johnnies”. Senior captain John Summers scored two goals and senior John Benoit scored on a header off a corner.

Concord-Carlisle is coming off a 3-1 victory of their own against top-seeded North Andover. The game was tied 1-1 but the team’s best striker, Levi Pierce, scored the game-winner. Pierce was injured later in the game. His status for tonight is unknown.

The Patriots, who beat Reading 3-0 in the first round, finished the regular season at 8-3-5. Pierce also scored in that game. Forward Liam Harrington has scored in both tournament games so far for Concord-Carlisle.

THE WARRIORS will travel to Manning Field in Lynn tonight at 7 p.m. to play Concord-Carlisle in the Div. 2 North semifinals. The winner will play in the finals on Sunday afternoon against Winchester or Belmont. (Bob Bry File Photo)

The Warriors, who beat Shawsheen Tech 1-0 on an overtime goal by Guy Jacob, finished the regular season at 8-6-4.

Both teams entered the tournament without much experience in postseason play, but both are peaking at the right time.

The keeper situation also has some similarities. Wakefield sophomore Matt Sellers was pressed into action this season after senior Zach Fiore was injured in the offseason. Sellers has been fantastic all year. Concord-Carlisle started a freshman, Ben Brown against Reading for the injured Alex Hunt. It is unknown whether Hunt will be available tonight.

Both teams have strong defensive lines. Wakefield’s Pat Collins, Josh Goc and Logan Cosgrove will need to play the same type of physical, shut-down defense they have displayed all year to stop an electric Patriot offense who has scored 46 goals this season including the playoffs. Wakefield has surrendered just 21, as has Concord-Carlisle.

The coaching staffs of both teams might consider dealing with the elements for an extra 80 minutes for some scouting as the Div. 2 North’s first semifinal game between Middlesex League opponents Belmont and Winchester will take place at 5 p.m. on the same field. It’s a rubber match for the two schools as Winchester won their first matchup 3-0 on Sept. 21 while Belmont took the second game 2-0 on Oct. 16.

The winner of Wakefield-Concord-Carlisle will play either the Marauders or Sachems back at Manning Field on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.