Results As Under-10 Boys (2002-2003)

Results for 2002-2003

Spring MAPLE 2003 (playing in Under-11 age group): Won 5, Lost 2, Tied 0 (Third Place in Red Group)
2003 Holliston Tournament (playing in Under-11 age group): Won 0, Lost 3, Tied 1
Indoor at the Coliseum (Squad "A" versus U12s): Won 3, Lost 4, Tied 0
Indoor at the Coliseum (Squad "B" versus U12s): Won 1, Lost 5, Tied 0
Indoor at Allsport Arena (Squad "A" versus U12s): Won 5, Lost 2, Tied 0
Indoor at Allsport Arena (Squad "B" versus U11s): Won 7, Lost 1, Tied 0
Fall 2002 Friendlies versus Under-11 teams: Won 0, Lost 4, Tied 0

TOTAL RECORD: 21 - 21 - 1

Spring MAPLE 2003 (as Under-10s, playing in the Under-11 age group)

Lost 2 - 1 versus South Shore United (April 13th). In their first-ever MAPLE match, the Western boys surprised an older, more experienced South Shore team by taking an early 1 - 0 lead on a cross by Mike Choquette and one-time finish by Christian Labonte. The team rose to the occasion of their first match by showing numerous stretches of composed possession play and a good work rate. Ricky Poirier and Jesse Geary had an excellent match in the midfield, joined by David Walas, Christian Grenier and Christopher Galluzzo. Jason Roberts, along with Jeff Anderson, Brent Booth, Sean Sheridan, Bobby Dragon, Patrick Anthony, Jeremy Malsch and Nick Calabrese, anchored a solid defensive effort that limited South Shore to few shots on goal, while Mike Choquette, Christian Labone and Tommy Barron maintained offensive pressure on a pack-in South Shore defense. Michael Choquette was consistently dangerous in the attack, despite being double-teamed for much of the match. Ben Droz and Christian Labonte played very well in goal against a physically stronger side.

Lost 4 - 0 versus Andover Shooting Stars (makeup: April 26th). In a rain-soaked match, the U10 boys confronted a larger and older team from Andover, but held their opponents scoreless through most of the first half. Andover tallied a lone goal with less than a minute remaining in the half to take a 1 - 0 halftime lead. Much of the play in the first half was in the middle third of the field. Both teams had opportunities to score, but a number of shots were missed because of poor footing or good defensive efforts. Western United's best opportunities arose from the short-passing game in the midfield and attacking third. The Andover defenders were superb in 1 v 1 coverage, but susceptible to a mobile passing attack. In the second half, the Andover side opened up the scoring with a beautifully executed wall-pass, resulting in a goal. Two other goals followed in the half for the final result. The Western boys did not get down by the scores, however, and picked up the attack, resulting in dangerous shots by Jason Roberts, Mike Choquette and Tommy Barron, that were saved by a superb keeper for the Andover side.

Won 3 - 0 versus Tornadoes (makeup: May 3rd). In a battle of Under-10 sides the Western United boys stung the Tornadoes with a 3 - 0 effort for their first-ever MAPLE win! Ben Droz and Christian Labonte combined in goal, making several key stops to earn the shutout victory. Western opened the scoring with the lone goal of the first half. Jesse Geary stole the ball in the attacking third and brought the ball to the top of the penalty area. Drawing defenders, he passed the ball off to Michael Choquette who blasted a beautiful shot from the right side of the field into the far left corner of the goal. Midway through the second half of play, Thomas Barron won a ball from an opposing player on the right side of the pitch and took it half the length of the field, finishing with a hard shot that the Tornado keeper deflected. Patrick Anthony, following the play on the left side, charged in and put the deflected ball in the back of the net. For the final tally, there was a wild scramble in front of the Tornado goal resulting from a cross into the box. Sean Sheridan deflected the ball to Ben Droz who banged home the insurance goal. Ricky Poirier Jesse Geary, Mike Choquette and Thomas Barron combined in a strong offensive effort. Brent Booth and Nick Calabrese provided a top-notch defensive effort in the win.

Won 2 - 1 versus FC Puma (May 4th). Western opened the scoring about five minutes into the first half. After a quick attack up the field, Jesse Geary split two defenders with a pass to Thomas Barron who was on the left at about the 6 with his back to the goal. Turning nicely, he placed the shot just under the crossbar for the first tally. About 15 minutes later there was a scramble in front of the visitor's goal. Jeremy Malsch won the ball and dropped a pass back to Chris Galluzzo, who came sprinting in from his midfield position to blast the rolling ball past the outstretched arms of the Puma goalkeeper. The remainder of the match was back and forth. Puma scored with less than 5 minutes remaining in the game. Nick Calabrese and Brent Booth played an outstanding defensive game. Ben Droz and Christian Labonte combined in goal to preserve the win.

Won 3 - 2 versus Post Road (makeup: May 10th). The Under-10 boys extended their winning streak to three games in a hard-fought match against Post Road. The game opened with Post Road taking control of the middle of the field and making several early runs at the Western goal. Midway through the first half, Ricky Poirier stipped the ball from a Post Road opponent by the top of the center circle and sent a pass to Mike Choquette who was running down the right side of the field. Mike blasted a hard shot from about 25 yards out that found the far, upper left corner of the goal for the first score of the game. Post Road would come back to score five minutes later. Western had several great opportunities to score in the first half, only to be stopped by the outstanding keeper play of their opponents. Ben Droz came up big in goal, handling the Post Road attack and making several key saves. Nick Calabrese stepped in and knocked the ball off the goal line, thereby stopping a scoring opportunity for Post Road. The first half ended in a 1 - 1 tie. Post Road would again come out running hard int he early stages of the second half. They scored five minutes into the half on a high shot that was just over the reach of keeper Christian Labonte. At about 10 minutes into the second half, Western was in the opponent's penalty area. Ben Droz fired a shot that the Post Road goalkeeper parried out. Tommy Barron ran in from the middle of the box, took the ball around a defender and shot the ball into the lower right corner to tie the score at 2 - 2. Post Road would make a few more runs at the Western goal with Christian Labonte stepping up to make several key saves, including one on a direct kick from just outside the 18. With about 10 minutes left, Western again took control of the middle of the field and made numerous runs at the Post Road defense. With about 5 minutes left in the game, there was a scramble for the ball in front of the Post Road goal. Ricky Poirier gained possession of the ball, dropped it back to Ben Droz who shot the ball under the crossbar for what proved to be the winning goal. Jason Roberts, Brent Booth, Jeff Anderson and Jesse Geary gave a solid defensive effort. Patrick Anthony and Christian Grenier made several key plays in the midfield to stop the opponent's attack.

Won 3 - 0 versus Boca Jr.(May 11th). The Under-10 boys continued on a roll, winning their fourth game in a row against a pumped-up Boca Jr. squad. Western opened the scoring midway through the first half when they were awarded a corner kick that Mike Choquette pounded into the middle of the box. Jesse Geary came running in from the top of the box, got control of the ball and banged the ball home into the lower left corner of the goal. Boca Jr. would make several runs at goal, only to be stopped by solid GK play by Ben Droz. Western took a 1 - 0 lead into the halftime break. In the second half Boca Jr. again put the pressure on the Western defense, making numerous runs at the goal. Again, solid GK play by Christian Labonte would shut the door on the attacks time and again. Midway through the second period, Sean Sheridan stole the ball from a Boca defender on the right side and passed the ball off to Mike Choquette who attempted to penetrate up the middle of the field. When Boca closed the door to the middle, Mike carried the ball outside to the far right corner of the penalty box and shot a high, looping shot that went in under the crossbar. Western would score their final goal with three minutes left to ice the victory. Patrick Anthony intercepted a Boca pass at the top of the box and fired a shot on goal that the Boca keeper deflected. Jeff Anderson came in and banged home the rebound, deflecting it off the inside of the left goal post and into the back of the net. This was a total team effort. Keeping offensive pressure on Boca was Tommy Barron, Jesse Geary, Meremy Malsch and Chris Galluzzo. Ricky Poirier, Micke Choquette, Christian Grenier, Jeremy Malsch and David Walas stood out in their midfield play. Brent Booth, Nick Calabrese, Bobby Dragon and Patrick Anthony played a hard-hitting defensive game. Ben Droz and Christian Labonte combined for their second shutout of the season. The boys showed a lot of heart as most of them had played a match earlier in the day.

Won 3 - 2 versus Bandits (May 18th). The scene was set for a great soccer day. The Western United U10 Boys were to face off against a physically stronger and faster U11 Bandits side. Both teams needed to win in order to have a chance to qualify for the upcoming K.C. Andre Cup tournament. The game started off as a back-and-forth affair, with Western gather more offensive momentum as play continued. Western's first goal occurred about 10 minutes into the first half as Mike Choquette banged a sailing corner kick to the far side of the goal. Jesse Geary got the inside position on the defender marking him and headed the ball into the back of the net for the first goal of the match. Western would keep the pressure on as they had several opportunities to convert crossing passes from Tommy Barron and corner kicks from Mike Choquette, but could not quite get a handle on the ball for the finish. About 20 minutes into the first half, Ricky Poirier would feed a lead pass to Mike Choquette who fired a high shot from the right side of the eighteen under the crossbar for Western's second goal of the match. Western took the 2 - 0 lead into the break. The second half was a hard-hitting, back-and-forth battle with the Bandits pulling out all the stops in order to score. The Bandits were successful about five minutes into the second half. However, the Western defense would thwart repeated Bandits' attacks time and time again. Ben Droz, playing from his stopper position, cleared the ball off the endline, thereby saving a goal. Mike Choquette came up big in goal with less than a minute left in the game, stopping a Bandit breakaway. Ben Droz, Christian Labonte and Mike Choquette combined in goal to hold the Bandits to a single goal. Patrick Anthony, Brent Booth, Jeff Anderson, Bobby Dragon and Nick Calabrese, led by Jason Roberts' leadership in the defense, played a great defensive game. Sean Sheridan, Jeremy Malsch, Chris Galluzzo, Christian Grenier and David Walas did a nice job keeping constant pressure on and slowing down the Bandits attack.