Revenge 'Sweet'ing as Windham swept away

Ethan Sweeting wasn't a Sachem last fall, when upstart Windham SA blew past the Sachems, 4-1 on a windy day in Nashua. But as the Windhammers will certainly attest, he was surely a Sachem on Sunday, scoring three goals and assisting on three others in a dominating 6-1 Sachem romp in New Hampshire.

It didn't take long for the Sachem train to leave the station, Sweeting scoring from the right side on a nifty skip pass from Patrick Foley in the 2nd minute.

Windham fired back in the 5th minute, beating the Sachem back line to level at 1. Eric Rolfs -- in for absent centerback Philip Woolston -- was injured on the play, crashing his knee into the goalpost. With Rolfs carried off the pitch by assistant coach Peter Miller and manager Joe Beyer and on ice if not the emergency room, the Sachems turned to Foley to hold the back along with outsiders Elliott Rippe and Griffin Burkey. It could have been derailment, but this Sachems train was indeed firing on all cylinders.

Central conductors Yoav Barkai and Charlie Cacciola threw more coal in their oven, their composure on the ball creating space along the wings and opportunities for Sweeting along the defensive restraining line. Winchester also attacked relentlessly down the right touchline through wide man Spencer Anton, whose pace and service was outstanding. The other wide men -- Ben Beyer, Jamie Keegan, Bennett Parsons and Cole Turissini -- also did well, showing patience and quality on the wings, playing into space multiple times and freeing Sweeting and each other in the attacking third.

But the Sachems didn't stay off the board for long, Sweeting punishing the Windham side's lack of defensive shape, sneaking behind the last man and walloping his second of the day inside the near post on a smooth low cross from Anton from the right flank in the 8th minute. Rolfs recovered via the treatment of team physio Carl Turissini and nearly scored the team's third goal while working his way back in at striker. But the scrapper's Shearer-like stature did not equal Shearer-like scoring and the shot sailed slightly sideways.

At halftime, the Sachems recharged and recommitted to their objectives of creating space, having patience and playing together, and for the second 30 minutes of the match, together they were. Although Sweeting and Barkai were the key men on the scorecard, all 13 Sachems contributed to the solid possession and passing. After withstanding an early Windham barrage, Rippe cleared to Sweeting at midfield, who released Barkai through for the overlapping breakaway in the 33rd minute.

In the 37th minute, Charlie Booth was viciously fouled just inside the Sachem half, near to the touchline. "Bend it Like" Bennett Parsons swerved a long ball over and through the Windham Eleven to the streaking Sweeting, whose blast was no match for the home keeper. Barkai dribbled loose after a sharp pass from Sweeting in the 43rd, and two minutes from time, Beyer poked in his usual smash-bang on the goal-line off a smart right-sided cross from Sweeting via Anton.

Goalkeepers Booth and Rolfs combined for seven saves, with Foley the outstanding defensive player and Sweeting earning Man of the Match honors for his six-point performance as the Sachem train barreled on through.

"Big Play" Booth leads Sachems to hard-earned win

Charlie Booth didn't touch the ball much during Sunday's 1-0 victory over the Inter Bandits at Lynch Field, but the few times he did were all big plays. The man known for making amazing goals on the futsal court served a flawless direct free kick in the 19th minute, which Ben Beyer banged in for the game winner.

As the second half goalkeeper, Booth quite literally saved the game, twice clearing balls off the goal line in the opening minute, including a parry and then low dive on the first opportunity.

The newly constituted Sachems three-man back line pitched a shutout in its first game with the new shape and system. Centerback Philip Woolston organized his mates and deftly shepherded opponents away from danger, while outside backs Booth, Griffin Burkey and Eric Rolfs locked down the athletic, powerful Inter attackers and were nearly flawless in their clearances and distribution. All four backs played bravely and united to earn the clean sheet, with Rolfs as the solid first half goalkeeper.

Yoav Barkai, Charlie Cacciola and Patrick Foley rotated through the two center positions, crafting the offense and helping defensively. Cacciola came off the bench to sort things after early shivers, allowing he, Foley and Barkai to settled in and distributed the ball nicely going forward.

Sachem wide men Spencer Anton, Jamie Keegan, Bennett Parsons, Elliott Rippe, Ethan Sweeting and Cole Turissini showed good spacing and developing poise on the touchlines for the home side. Forwards Beyer and Sweeting logged the minutes at forward and had late opportunities canceled from the Bandits goalkeeper. Overall it was an impressive true beginning to the spring season for the boys.