Sacred Heart Prep boys' soccer team back on winning track

“Mater Dei was probably the best team we’ve ever played,” said Armando Del Rio, SHP head coach. “I was worried, psychologically, about that because after that, we went on break.”

Wednesday, SHP opened West Bay Athletic League play and with a new year came a new performance — a 7-2 shellacking of Woodside Priory.

“I’ve been looking forward to league play because our preseason was rough,” Del Rio said.

Wednesday’s game was the first time the Gators had their entire squad available. Early in the season, they were without players from the football team who were playing in the state championship game. Injuries knocked out another couple of key pieces.

But Wednesday against the Panthers, the Gators came out determined to get a good result and they wasted little time putting the pedal to the metal.

Almost immediately off the opening kickoff, the Gators were on the attack, with Luke Maxwell opening the scoring in the opening minute of the game, taking a cross from the left flank and side-footing the ball into the net.

It was the perfect start for Maxwell, who was appearing in just his third game of the season as he recovered from injury.

Also coming off the injury list was Tommy Sullivan, both of whom Del Rio said are a big part of the offense.

“Our front line is really good,” Del Rio said. “[Maxwell and Sullivan] are critical.”

And they certainly made up for lost time. Maxwell’s initial strike was the first in what would become a three-goal hat trick midway through the first half. He also added an assist.

Sullivan chipped with a pair of goals to go along with two assists as well.

SHP (1-0 WBAL, 3-3 overall) wore out the flanks, especially on the left side, as time and again, a Gators wing found the ball at his feet and no defender around. After Maxwell opened the scoring, he added his second goal in the eighth minute. Nathaniel Pi-Sunyer triggered the play when he received the ball on the left sideline and made a run. As a defender finally closed on him, he sent a cross to the front of the goal where Maxwell was unmarked. He was so wide open, he had time to take a touch to settle the ball before picking the left corner of the goal for to give him two-thirds of hit hat trick.

Five minutes later, Sullivan earned his first assist of the game. Again off a run down the left side, he swung a cross to the front of the goal. This time, Maxwell was tangled up with a Priory defender.

But Billy Thompson was making a back-post run and he was the recipient of the pass and took advantage with a finish to make it 3-0 just 13 minutes into the game.

It was 4-0 three minutes later. This time, the attack was mounted on the right side, with Thompson making a slashing run into the Panthers’ penalty box. He unleashed a shot that was parried away by the Woodside Priory goalkeeper — with the rebound going right to Sullivan, who managed to remain calm long enough to cue the ball into the net.

Sullivan and Maxwell hooked up for his third goal in the 21st minute, with Sullivan attacking down the left flank and Maxwell one-timing the finish for a 5-0 SHP lead.

Maxwell and Sullivan traded roles for the Gators’ sixth goal in the 22nd minute, with Maxwell setting up Sullivan in front.

Woodside Priory, meanwhile, was struggling to even get the ball out of its own end, but on one of its few forays into the SHP end just before halftime, a failed Gators clearance resulted in Priory’s first goal.

A ball was crossed into a scrum in front of the SHP goal where Priory’s Evan Vagelos finally got a foot on it and poked it home for a Panthers’ goal six minutes before halftime.

That was more than enough time for the Gators to pick up their seventh goal of the half as Sean Tinsley rounded out the scoring for the Gators.

In the second, half, SHP tried to build its offense through the middle of the field and even though the Gators weren’t really looking to add more goals, they were certainly looking to be more precise on the ball as they worked it around.

A long layoff and lack of consistent practice left Del Rio wanting more in the second half.

“We seemed to take our foot off the pedal,” Del Rio said. “We haven’t had a whole lot of time together. We have to be able to play in tight spaces. Be more precise with our movement and passing.”

Priory (0-1, 0-3) provided the only goal of the second half as Finn Smith scored the prettiest goal of the game as he hammered a shot from the right side of the penalty box into the far left side netting in the 78th minute.