By Ryan Lanigan || HockomockSports.com Editor
WRENTHAM, Mass. — After being limited to just eight games a year ago, King Philip senior Marco Amorim is wasting no time making up for it with a breakout start to his final season.
Amorim had a goal and an assist on Tuesday afternoon to lead the Warriors to a 2-0 win over division foe Sharon. The result pushed KP’s unbeaten streak to four in a row since dropping the opener.
“He’s the complete package,” said King Philip head coach Mike O’Neill. “He’s accountable on defense, he’s lightning quick on the ball, and he’s super intelligent with his movement. He’s playing some elite soccer right now and I’m not sure where everyone else is at around the league but I wouldn’t be surprised if he was leading the league in points.”
His goal put the Warriors ahead in the eighth minute of the game and then he set up classmate Nick Longobardi in the 46th minute to double the advantage for the hosts.
The Warriors have scored in all five games so far this season, and found the back of the net seven times in its previous two games against OA and Westwood. But KP also conceded seven, tying both games. O’Neill was happy for his side to secure their second shutout of the season.
“Yeah, I’m very pleased with the effort from the boys,” O’Neill said. “More importantly, we were having some organizational and tactical problems in defense, and you know when you get going in season, with 18 games and there’s two or three a week, it’s very hard to find time to teach. But the boys picked it up very fast today, and I was pleased.
“Instead of just sitting in at the end, we left them out there in our original shape to give the midfielders time to really get reps being in the right place. They did better. They did better, but we still have plenty of work to do.”
KP’s bright start came from Amorim’s strong play in the midfield. The senior won a handful of early challenges and helped spray the ball around, picking out teammates in both flanks while looking for through balls past the defense. The opening — and game-winning — ended up coming off his right foot less than 10 minutes in.
Junior Greyson Perachi played a ball out wide for senior George Blakesley. His service into the area was knocked away by Sharon keeper Sam Buder but the ensuing clearance didn’t make it out of the area, looping up only as far as Amorim, who took it one-time and it deflected off the near post and in to make it 1-0.
KP had a chance just a minute later when Longobardi got off a shot from just inside the area but Sharon defender Arjun Singhania did well to block it down.
The Eagles started to gain footing in the game as the half went on. Jusenly Lorth flashed a header wide off a free kick from Zack Abdelkader in the 13th minute and then KP goalie Brent Schneider made a pair of saves on Sharon sophomore Greg Pavlov in the 14th and 17th minutes, including a strong stop on a chance from inside the box.
Sharon added two more chances before the halftime whistle but didn’t truly test Schneider. Senior Leo Yin ripped a one timer that went over the bar in the 38th minute, and seconds later, Damian Gorea teed up Pavlov for a chance in the area but his bid was wide at the near post.
The halftime whistle came at the right time for KP, who regrouped at the break and doubled its lead less than 10 minutes into the second half. A looping ball from Amorim to Longobardi set up the corner, and the two connected again on the set piece to double the lead. Amorim’s service dropped right to the penalty spot and Longobardi rose above the crowd and deposited a perfect header into the upper corner, leaving no chance for an outstretched Buder.
“We definitely talked about the importance of continuing to compete, especially when you’re ahead,” O’Neill said. “We had an object lesson on Saturday about how quickly you can lose a lead–and even lose it multiple times–but they didn’t today. That’s one of the exciting things about this team: you can remind them of what happened in previous games, and they respond. It isn’t about the effort, they work hard, and it’s really just about finding that mental focus again. They did that today. I was very happy for them. They got the second goal, and then we pretty much just took the air out of the ball for the rest of the game.”
Sharon made an effort to get forward over the final 20 minutes but Schneider was only called into action once, punching away a free kick from senior Diego Martinez from 25 yards out.
King Philip’s defense was anchored by seniors Ryan Love and Ben Cochran in front of Schneider. Blakesley manned the right wing while Jacoby Penabad and Hunter Wells played on the left. Senior Greg Manley and Nick Wendling provided an extra layer of defense up the middle from their spots in the midfield.
“We have some very good players, but we also have a lot of inexperience, so they’re getting up to speed quickly,” O’Neill said. “Brent and Ryan have been terrific. Brent, of course, is one of our captains. He’s a very steady hand back there. He never gets rattled, he’s completely calm, and he’s a really good athlete, so he gives the other players a lot of confidence. I also thought this was one of Ryan’s best games. He had an amazing game against Franklin, and I think this was second only to that. He played really well in the back, and even under a ton of pressure he looked really relaxed.”
King Philip boys soccer (2-1-1 Hockomock, 2-1-2 overall) will look to extend its unbeaten streak on Thursday when it visits Foxboro. Sharon (1-2-1, 1-2-1) is on the road again with a trip to Mansfield on the same day.
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