LYNN — St. Mary’s boys soccer team (10-1-2) completed its season sweep of Bishop Fenwick Monday afternoon, defeating the Crusaders 7-0 at Manning Field.
St. Mary’s got on the ball early and, thanks to a first-half hat trick from Kaya Jackson, controlled the game.
“Kaya has been phenomenal for us this season in terms of his goal contributions, not just the goals he’s scored, but his assists, too,” Spartans co-coach Eddie Mercy Kisakye said. “We’ve always wanted him to step up in that role, not just as a goal scorer, but as a leader.”
Jackson scored his first two goals within minutes of each other. On the first, Jackson rounded the goalkeeper and chipped the ball into the back of the net. Then, with 20:57 remaining, Anthony Gomez drew a penalty, which Jackson took and converted to give the Spartans a 3-0 lead.
Moments later, Jackson completed his hat trick after an unselfish pass from Nick Miller set him up for a tame finish.
It was Miller’s first game back since he was sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered during the Malden Catholic game last week.
“He’s been out for a couple of weeks,” Spartans co-coach Shane McCarran said. “He’s only at 60 percent and he contributed right away. He’s going to help us big-time down the line.”
Miller contributed with two assists in the first half. His second was a cross that Jacob Guarino converted past the Fenwick’s shot-stopper.
According to both McCarran and Kisakye, Miller brings a lot to the team.
“He brings great leadership. He leads by example,” McCarran said. “He’s got that work ethic and grit that really sparks our team.”
“Tactically, what he brings to the table is that he bases his dominations on 1v1s, and that’s exactly what we want from our wide players,” Kisakye said. “We’re excited to see how we can move him around during games.”
Despite the loss, Crusaders’ coach Julius Pertillar was pleased with how his team performed compared to its last meeting, which saw the Spartans put 14 goals into the net.
“It was actually a good game because it’s better than last time,” Pertillar said. “Even though we still lost, it was an improvement.”
Pertillar said he’s responsible for some of the errors that haunted Fenwick.
“I have to take responsibility for some of the mistakes that they made because it’s some of the things that I need to go over more with them in practice,” Pertillar said.
One standout player for the Crusaders was junior captain and keeper Daniel Rowan, who finished the game with 16 saves.
“He had a great game. He’s been a pillar for us,” Pertillar said. “He’s a junior captain. He’s worked so hard on his game. He’s a leader on and off the field. He’s been fantastic for us.”
Marco Ferullo scored his first varsity goal for the Spartans with moments left in the game (7-0).
