Four Bromfield graduates added another prestigious title to their soccer résumés when their District 6B, U-19 team won the championship this past weekend in a five-game, two-day tournament played August 4 and 5. Ian Rothkopf, Keeon Tabrizi, Charlie Watkins, and Toby Frost played a five-week season leading up to the victory, working with other players from rival high schools. Although used to viewing these rival players as opponents, “We played well together,” Tabrizi said.
District 6B first played a team made up of Metro-west communities on Saturday. They beat District 3 by a score of 2–0 in the morning, then faced off against District 5 from the North Shore in the afternoon. Frost earned a clean sheet by playing the entirety of the 60-minute game while the offense converted four goal-scoring opportunities. Rothkopf had two assists in this game.
At 8 a.m. Sunday morning, the team took the field against players from Middlesex County (District 4). They lost this game by a score of 0–1. In a twist of fate, they later beat the same team in the semifinal round by the exact same score. Watkins’s defensive play and Frost’s work in the net were key in this victory.
As a result of this win, they moved into the final round. District 6B played District 6A in the final match. The 6A team had a number of players from other rival high schools, such as Sutton and Oakmont Regional. The teams were equally talented, and the 6B victory was hard-earned. Rothkopf created a goal-scoring opportunity early on during the match from his center midfield position, then a teammate scored the goal after receiving the over-the-top pass. Victory was far from certain at halftime, however, when the score stood at 1–4. However, 6B gained momentum and made a comeback late in the second half, when Tabrizi scored a goal on an impressive half-volley shot. By the end of the 90-minute contest, 6B was up 5–4 to take home the championship title.
