The Bromfield boys soccer team’s season came to a bitter end last Wednesday on a 35-degree night at Westfield State College, when they lost in the state semifinal match to the Lenox Millionaires.
Lenox came into the game as the fifth seed in the Western Division, with a record of 12-8-2. Bromfield, the sixth-seeded Central Massachusetts champion, was the favorite to win the game, entering the game with a 16-3-2 record.
Derek Silver works to keep the ball in bounds. (File photo)
Bromfield was the more skilled team in the first half, behind dominating offensive play from midfielders Andy Tabrizi and Isaac Cohen and strikers Derek Silver, D’Vonne Williams, and Hunter Granville. They controlled the ball throughout the first 30 minutes, mustering six shots on goal in that time.
However, after a Tabrizi free kick was deflected out of the box, Lenox saw a swing of momentum in its favor. Millionaire striker Chris Considine impressed with foot skills moving into the Bromfield zone, beating three Bromfield defenders. Bromfield sweeper Brian McCollough managed to stifle Considine’s foot fake on that same possession, but Lenox kept the ball in Bromfield’s zone throughout the remainder of the half.
Bromfield keeper Will Nocka went into halftime with four saves, three of which were off hard Considine shots from outside the penalty box.
Coming out of halftime, it seemed as though Lenox simply had more energy than Bromfield. The team was quick on its feet and Bromfield was slow to the ball. Off a Trojan turnover in the neutral zone, Considine slipped through the Bromfield defense and McCollough approached to block the shot. However, the Bromfield stopper arrived just too late, Nocka’s quick dive to his left could not block the shot, and Lenox scored its first goal of the game with 15 minutes remaining in the match.
Bromfield put on a short offensive surge shortly after falling behind, but once again, the ball was cleared to Considine, who beat the Bromfield defense and approached McCollough with eight minutes left in the game. McCollough kicked the ball, and Considine went through the ball and McCollough’s vulnerable leg toward the net, and a hip fake caught Nocka off balance; the shot squeaked in past his slide. It was Considine’s second goal of the game.
Andy Tabrizi (right) brings the ball downfield. (File photo)
McCollough was down for almost 10 minutes after the hit, and was carted off the field in a tractor in tears, seeing the end of his MVP season. He was taken to the hospital for an MRI and was diagnosed with a severely sprained knee, with minor tears in his knee ligaments.
Eight minutes later, the final whistle blew, and Bromfield’s season was over.
Lenox effectively shut down Bromfield’s scoring force of Silver and Williams, who had combined for six goals and four assists in the past two games.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Trojans exceeded many expectations for this season. They finished first in Central Massachusetts after not even being ranked in the Worcester Telegram preseason power rankings, and defied the seedings on their way to the title by beating a third seed, 10th seed, and the number one overall seed.
This was just Nocka’s third loss of the season, and the first Lenox goal was the first one he had allowed in over 240 minutes of playoff gameplay.
