Boys’ soccer beat Natick 1-0 Saturday, Oct. 17 at home, with junior Emerson Tut scoring the winning goal late in the second half.

In the first half, North’s aggressive defense allowed them to double-team Natick’s playmakers and stop the Red Hawks’ explosive runs. Natick played with tough pressure as well, and a defensive battle ensued. “Our defense had a great game keeping another clean sheet, but our offense could have been better,” said senior Jay Sharma, a captain with junior Will Rooney.

15 minutes into the first half, Rooney started a good drive to the goal with juniors Rialto Janairo and Anthony Oliveria before firing off a shot wide of the target.

“We were not as aggressive as we wanted to be in the first half,” said special education teacher Roy Dow, the head coach. “That is one of our main goals we need to improve on.” 

In the start of the second half, Natick initiated multiple drives into North territory. Sophomore Henry Baker, the goalie, made an impressive block with only six minutes left in the first part of the second half. However, the Tigers were silent on offense for most of the start of the second half. According to Sharma, “We did well keeping possession for the majority of the game but the energy wasn’t there for the majority of the first half and some of the second half.” 

Tut stopped a big play at the twenty first minute of the second half preventing a Natick drive by forcing the ball out of bounds. The Tigers became more aggressive as the game came to a close, taking multiple shots on Natick’s goal. 

Twenty seven minutes into the second half, Natick turned over the ball and Oliveria broke away with it. With a pass to Tut, the Tigers scored the game-winning goal. “We knew we weren’t going to win the game if we didn’t step it up, and our response in the fourth quarter was perfect,” said Sharma. 

The Tigers hope to capitalize on their win with their game against Needham this week, Tuesday Oct. 27 at home.