The Wellesley High School boys soccer team fed off the crowd of hundreds on hand for the first Raiders game under the new lights at Hunnewell Field and kept most there to the end with an exciting 2-1 win over Brookline High. The Raiders got off to a 2-0 lead in the first half and hung on after a late Brookline goal under a darkening sky and waxing crescent moon.
Alex Gold started the scoring by blasting a shot from the right side of the net and through the keeper just over four minutes into the match. The Raiders went up less than 10 minutes later on a very high header from Enzo Desviat Ruiz that went over and behind the keeper.
Student fans dressed in red stood against the bleacher railings, chanting for the Raiders and giving Brookline players the business. Parents congratulated each other on night games becoming a reality: “Dude, how great is it to be under the lights?” said one to another. Reps from the Natural Resources Commission and other town bodies showed up for the milestone game that their work and decisions paved the way for. Wellesley High Principal Dr. Jamie Chisum took in the match from inside the fence, hobnobbing with other attendees and taking photos of the game.
Once the Raiders sealed the victory for their third straight win, Wellesley High Athletic Director John Brown breathed a sigh of relief and satisfaction. “Great weather, great game… and the lights stayed on,” he said.
Next up at night: Wellesley High girls soccer vs. Natick High at 6pm on Sept. 17.
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Some Massachusetts towns are suspending evening high school sports due to the danger of the Equine and Nile mosquito-borne viruses.
https://www.wcvb.com/article/massachusetts-sports-start-time-change-mosquito-virus-risk-eee-west-nile/62085016
A few follow up questions for the community: Did all the neighbors survive ? Did the nocturnal animals indigenous to Wellesley survive? Are the wetlands near the stadium still wet? Was the traffic getting out of the high school after the game as bad as getting out of Foxboro after a Patriots game? I think it is time for all to take a deep breath and take the training wheels off and use the stadium like every other town does in this country….