Attleboro Slips Past Milford Behind Rocchio’s Shutout

 
 
 MILFORD, Mass. – If possession and scoring chances determined the outcome of a game, Milford would have recorded a landslide victory on Friday afternoon.

But it comes down to goals, and that lone strike in the game belonged to visiting Attleboro, who bunkered down defensively and got a big performance from junior goalie Tyler Rocchio to earn a 1-0 win and a key two points.

“They totally outplayed us and had beautiful possession but my goalie was hot,” said longtime Attleboro head coach Peter Pereira. “That save down there was massive. We were gutsy today, had a lot of numbers back and we did whatever it takes to get it out of there. [Rocchio] did a good job and the defense played solid back there. They had a lot of outside shots, we didn’t let them get in.

“They were the better team, their two kids in the middle have great touch. Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do to get a point here or there.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

The teams entered the contest locked in a tie for second place in the Kelley-Rex division, trailing Franklin by two points. The Bombardiers earned a big 4-0 win in the first meeting in the second week of the season although the Hawks were without a handful of starters.

With a nearly complete lineup – Milford was still without leading goal scorer Eduardo Santana – this time around was bound to be a closer contest.

It played out that way as the hosts asserted control over the first 20 minutes of the game.

Nick Ribeiro’s free kick was flashed wide by center back Kaua Pereira in the fifth minute, and just minutes later, Ribeiro’s switch to John Borges was headed into the area and freshman Johnny Castro nearly won the loose ball before Rocchio gobbled it up.

Milford’s best chance of the first half came just before the midway point as Ribeiro played Arthur Tome out wide on the left. Tome confidently attacked the defense, cutting into the middle before using a clever back heel touch to set up Ribeiro for a one-timer from just outside the box. The shot curled past Rocchio’s reach but hit off the inside of the post and stayed out.

Attleboro went back down the other end and cashed in with its first big chance of the opening half. Junior Alex Vecchioli was double-teamed and was knocked off the ball. Instead of a whistle, Vecchioli quickly got back to his feet, won possession back, carried toward the goal, and blasted a hard shot from a tight angle to the far post side netting.

“Alex’s goal was all work, work, work,” Pereira said. “They knocked him down, he got back up and got the ball again and went to goal.”

Milford nearly unlocked the Attleboro defense minutes later as Borges and Ribeiro combined on a nice one-two, the former breaking into the area but a strong challenge from Bombardier defenders Jake Stromfors and Zach Diffenderfer denied the Hawks.

An errant pass in the back nearly led to the equalizer in the final moments of the first half but Attleboro center back Toby Smith recovered to track down the loose ball, winning back-to-back 50/50 challenges to keep the visitors ahead.

We played until the end, we played tough so I’m proud of that but the scoreline is what it is,” said Milford head coach Antonio Pinto. “You can dominate a game but it doesn’t always reflect on the scoreboard because part of the game is scoring goals. We played fine but we didn’t do the number one thing which is scoring.”

The second half was dominated by the hosts but they couldn’t quite solve the Attleboro back line, featuring Ian Miller alongside Stromfors, Diffenderfer, and Smith, plus Lucas Marques in a center defensive mid role.

In the 44th minute, sophomore Rodrigo Lourenço sent in a corner that Pereira sent wide, and then Smith came up with a good defensive tackle on Borges after a long ball from Nate Dinis two minutes later. In the 54th minute, Andre Baiano blasted a left-footed shot that was well-struck but was just over the bar.

“They’ve grown, and they are communicating well with each other,” Pereira said of his defense. “They are skinny little guys but they get the job done. Smith doesn’t care who’s in front of him, he’ll make the tackle and do whatever it takes. The outside fullbacks have been getting better and better too. And with teams like Milford, we needed to have numbers back.”

The biggest stop for the Bombardiers came in the 63rd minute. As the hosts continued to knock on the door, it looked like Tome was set to break through and bring the Hawks level. From the left sideline, he was able to cut in and get off a well-hit right-footed shot that looked destined for the top corner as the far post but Rocchio timed his leap perfectly and parried the ball away with one-hand with what certainly will be one of the best saves of the year.

“That was massive,” Pereira said.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Milford pushed numbers forward in the final minutes but couldn’t connect on a through ball or a cross into the area and the Bombardiers escaped with the win.

“The players might be a little agitated after two losses, they aren’t used to losing but I’ll tell you right now, I’m very confident,” Pinto said. “Our main goal is to get one point to get us into the playoffs, then we want to make sure we aren’t getting cards…if we get to the playoffs with a full, healthy roster, I think we can cause some problems.”

Attleboro boys soccer (8-2-3 overall, 7-2-3 Hockomock) is on the road next week at King Philip. Milford (8-5-1, 7-4-1) will try to snap its brief two-game skid on a trip to North Attleboro.