by Hana Beckerle, DCSportsFan
As the WCAC regular season draws to a close, Bishop McNamara made a strong statement Tuesday with a 4-0 shutout win over Bishop Ireton in Alexandria. The victory leaves McNamara with a 7-6-4 record in league play with one regular season game left to play.
“We wanted to finish the season strong,” said senior Maxwell Allegro. “We needed this win to pump us up before the playoffs.”
The teams appeared fairly evenly matched until the final ten minutes of the first half. Allegro scored two goals within a couple minutes of each other, one off of a corner kick by senior Ryan Leslie and the second off of a pass from teammate junior Andrew DeGennaro.
Senior midfielder Mayowa Alli of McNamara received a yellow card after running into Ireton senior Evan Guidry shortly before the half ended. Alli left the game after the call, but he returned to play in the second half.
Junior Francis Massa replaced senior Arthur Deegan in goal for the Cardinals in the second half, and Massa had a nice save in the first ten minutes, but McNamara senior Matthew Malecki’s shot a few minutes later sailed just past his fingertips to put the Mustangs up 3-0. Malecki’s goal came off of a pass by senior Matthew Michael.
Allegro scored the final goal of the match when he pounded in a rebound from a deflected shot by teammate senior Gregory Carbott. Carbott had a couple of shots throughout the match and put pressure on the Cardinals’ defense.
Ireton’s most notable player was sophomore defender Nick Galdos, who was all over the field and had several key plays for the Cardinals.
A few Ireton players were slow to rise or needed assistance after collisions during the game. Junior Sebastian Spinetto left the game with a knee injury about halfway through the first half, and he was later carted around the field and out of the stadium.
The Cardinals fall to 2-13-2 in WCAC games and sit near the bottom of league rankings. Ireton hosts St. John’s, the only team in the league with a worse record, Friday to finish the season.
The Mustangs are 7-6-4 in league play and wrap up the regular season by hosting St. Mary’s Ryken this Friday. When the Mustangs met Ryken met last month the result was a 2-2 tie.
“We think we’ll be well prepared. We’re going to come out with intensity and hopefully get another win,” said Allegro.
Scoring Summary
McNamara Goals: Maxwell Allegro (3), Matthew Malecki
Saves: Jeff Meekins (4)
Ireton Saves: Arthur Deegan (3), Francis Massa (3)
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