Voc-Tech’s Laxmi Basnet, right, battles a Smith Voke player for position and possession of the ball Thursday. (Photo by Chris Putz)
WESTFIELD – The Westfield Vocational-Technical High School boys’ soccer team has racked up a long list of accolades for the 2014 season.
A Tri-County League championship. An unbeaten regular season. And now, Voc-Tech is just one away from repeating as the state small vocational schools boys’ soccer champion.
On Thursday, the top-seeded Tigers (17-0-1) handed Smith Voke a 2-0 loss to cement the Whip City soccer team’s place in the title game.
Westfield Voc-Tech advances to play McCann Tech in the state small vocational schools’ championship Friday at Bullens Field at 3 p.m.
“We are keeping undefeated a note as our motivation to keep going,” said Voc-Tech’s Tyler Hall. “Every day is a new day. You never know what team is going to show up against us.”
Westfield Voc-Tech’s Dmitriy Stepanchuk (11) gets into the middle of the action against Smith Voke in the state small vocational schools’ boys’ soccer tournament semifinals Thursday at Bullens Field. (Photo by Chris Putz)
Alex Makarchuk put Voc-Tech out front from the outset, scoring in the ninth minute when a shot in tight from Makarchuk deflected off a Smith player into the back of the net.
With 14:18 remaining in the first half, Dominic Rosario blasted a direct kick from about 18 yards away that just cleared the crossbar for a 2-0 lead.
Voc-Tech protected its lead in the second half, and preserved a shutout. The Tigers withstood a late push from Smith, which put pressure on the backfield.
“It’s all about surviving and advancing,” Westfield Voc-Tech coach Kyle Dulude said, “so a win is a win. Smith Voke came out and played us hard.”
It was a clean sweep for Voc-Tech, who defeated Smith 3-0 twice during the regular season.
Still, Dulude said there is much room for improvement.
“We have to come ready to play a little bit better tomorrow,” the Tigers coach explained. “(Our players) need to keep their focus on getting rested and resetting our state of mind … There is no reason to hold back. We have to come with our ‘A’ game.”
