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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Medfield and Westwood High boys varsity soccer teams took the field at the Wheelock school on Tuesday evening with Medfield prevailing 4-0, earning their first win of the 2016 season and improving their record to 1-3-2.
Despite stellar early defensive play from both sides, Jack Fitzgerald got the party started for the Warriors with a header off of a Marshall Bushnell corner kick to put Medfield ahead 1-0.
Following the Fitzgerald goal, the Wolverines locked down the center of the field and forced the Warriors to work the ball to the outside. The tight defensive play allowed Westwood to keep the deficit at just one at the half.
The Wolverines (3-2-2) came out in the second half on a mission to knot the game at one, as Brian Gibbons and Billy Wallace both had tremendous point-blank scoring opportunities early in the half but were denied by Warrior goalkeeper Liam McNulty (1-3-1 record) with two sprawling saves.
The game remained 1-0 in favor of Medfield until midway through the second half when Marshall Bushnell again found a way to get the ball to one of his teammates for a tremendous scoring chance with a swift touch pass down the left sideline to Davis White. Bushnell’s pass was hauled in by the left leg of White and struck home past the reach of Westwood goalkeeper Nick Barner to extend the lead to 2-0.
The Warriors completely seized momentum after the Davis White-goal and it showed on the scoreboard with two more goals in the final 15 minutes to extend their lead to four with goals from Brennan White and Cahill.
The Wolverines tried desperately to put one into the back of the Medfield cage for pride with late chances from Connor Walsh and Nick Giovino but were again denied by McNulty, and the game ended in a 4-0 shutout win for the Warriors.
The Warriors will look to keep up their winning ways in upcoming games against Millis (10/4) and Norton (10/6) while Westwood will look to get back in the win column against TVL foe Dover-Sherborn (10/4) and conference-leading Medway (10/6).
