Jacob Silvestre drilled a long free kick into the net at 6:31 of the first sudden-death overtime period as No. 2 Seekonk (16-0-4) defeated the MVRHS boys soccer team, 2-1, in the MIAA Division 3 South Sectional quarterfinals Wednesday evening at Seekonk High School.
The No. 7 Vineyarders (15-4-1) had their chances, and carried the play throughout the match, but the Warriors staved off the upset.
“Our team played a great game,” Vineyard Coach Esteban Aranzabe said. “We dominated the game, but we didn’t put the ball in the net.” Jack Holmes and Daniel Bonneau were defensive standouts for the Vineyarders, and freshman keeper Hiaggo Goncalves finished with three saves.
Seekonk took the lead In the 14th minute after Jared Cabral fielded a pass from Devon Bento and bounced a shot into the right corner of the net, up and over diving keeper Goncalves.
The Vineyarders nearly grabbed an equalizer six minutes later from a set piece. Morgan Estrella fired a free kick which Emanuel Silva headed toward the Seekonk goal, but keeper Collin Tenreiro knocked the ball over the crossbar.
With 14 minutes left in the first half, Sam Balbino scored the tying goal on a feed from Silva.
Seekonk nearly regained the lead two minutes into the second half, but Goncalves made the save of the match by diving toward the right post to deny Bento.
From there, the Vineyarders failed to find a groove on a slick Seekonk pitch more narrow and smaller than Dan McCarthy Field in Oak Bluffs. In the first round win over Archbishop Williams, Sunday at home, the Vineyarders utilized the full width of the field and fueled their persistent attack with short, crisp passes and abundant movement off the ball.
