Bromfield’s Mitchell Williams and Trevor Granville focus on the ball. (Photo by Bin Han)
The Bromfield boys varsity soccer team and the Lunenburg Blue Knights played to a 0-0 tie last Wednesday, Oct 5, at the Depot Road field. Bromfield’s once unbeaten record now stands as 6-1-1.
The wet, blusterous weather hindered Bromfield’s performance, with several Trojans slipping on the moist grass, unable to play up to their usual abilities. Every attempt made by the Trojans was blocked, as Bromfield’s slow maneuvers gave the Blue Knights enough time to surround and trap in the ball.
During the first half, both teams managed three shots on goal, each shot blocked by the keepers.
As the game pro- gressed, Lunenburg gradually adopted a more defensive strategy, as the ball was in play on their side throughout the majority of the game. The numerous attempts by Bromfield greatly outnumbered those of the Blue Knights; however a tie against the Trojans was more than enough to satisfy Lunenburg, as their cries of joy from the game-ending whistle indicated.
Bromfield lined up shot after shot against the Blue Knights during the second half, but the lack of concentration thwarted the team’s motivation, as more than nine Bromfield attempts failed to pull the Trojans ahead.
At 48 minutes, senior center-midfielder Brenton Stoddart made a daring attempt to bullet the ball from outside the 18-yard box, only for the ball to lose momentum and land safely in the arms of the Lunenburg keeper John Lahti.
At 50 minutes, the Bromfield team came extremely close to a goal from a corner kick by senior striker D’vonne Williams. As the ball cut through the air, sophomore left-midfielder Paul Malloy quickly redirected the ball at the net, only for it to be deflected off of the chest of a Blue Knight defender.
At 52 minutes, junior striker Dylan Osgood maneuvered around the crowd of blue and took a clear shot at net, which was barely blocked by Lahti.
At 55 minutes, junior center-midfielder Lucas Hickock sent a cross in front, but Osgood’s kick skewed to the right, deflecting off the right bar of the goal.
At 70 minutes, sophomore left-midfielder Ezra Kraus bulleted the ball directly at the Lunenburg net, which was caught in the air by Lahti.
Regardless of the number of attempts made by the Trojans, the Blue Knights were one step ahead, keeping the ball away from their net, long enough to end the game with a 0-0 tie.
“We didn’t have it offensively,” said coach Tom Hill. “We didn’t make the connections, which we had trouble finding all year…Whenever the ball was inside the 18 [yard line], [Lunenburg] blocked it…We’re a better team; we were just playing worse than usual.”
A complete Bromfield loss was prevented by sophomore keeper Ryan Kennedy, whose saves minimized the potential misfortune of the team.
