Penalty Kicks Help Put WHS Boys Soccer in Winners Circle

The Westborough High School varsity boys soccer team scored three first half goals -- two on penalty kicks -- to beat visiting South, 3-1, in the 2013 Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Boys Soccer Central Division 1 quarterfinals Saturday.

The top-seeded Rangers (14-1-3 regular season) advance to the semi-finals. They'll play the winner of Monday night's Algonquin-Shepherd Hill quarterfinal. the semi-final winner advances to the final. Shepherd Hill (11-5-2) is seeded fourth. Algonquin (10-5-3) is seeded fifth. Westborough earned a first-round bye.

Saturday, the Rangers led 3-0 at the half, on goals by senior Jamie Plowman (from senior tri-captain Steven Frame, in the ninth minute) and senior tri-captains Carter Reynolds (19th minute) and Brendan Goodliffe (38th minute).

Reynolds and Goodliffe scored on penalty kicks.

“It’s the pressure that we put on them that enabled us to bury those two PKs," Westborough head coach John Hillier said.

South's Mamadou Kabareth scored (assisted by Pirro Tomco) in the fourth minute of the second half.

“We played a very nice first half. The second half, I was very surprised by how well South came out. They really had their composure, and played really well in the second half," Hillier said.

“Griffin’s been like that all season long. He’s a very strong keeper," Hillier said.