Corrected and updated Nov. 20, 2022
Bromfield’s 2022 boys soccer players (13-3-2) proved themselves worthy contenders for this year’s Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 5 championship by trouncing 4-1 the No. 4 seed Gardner Wildcats (12-2-2) Tuesday night at Norton Field in Ayer—and advancing to the state final for a fifth consecutive year.
Tafara Vera (#11) gets a shot off to thwart a Gardner attack. (Photo by Kent Boynton)
Senior Alex Myles (#9). (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Sophomore attacker Brendan Listzwan scored three of Havard’s goals, earning a hat trick, and senior Theo Bradley scored the fourth. Gardner’s sole goal was by junior Ricardo Ruiz with an assist from freshman Camden Gamache. Trojans goalie and co-captain Tucker Madison had a half-dozen saves as he and senior backfielders Theo Bradley, Sam Secor, and Colin Martel defended against a fast and dangerous Wildcats offense.
For the Trojans, the night’s victory was sweet revenge. In last month’s Central Massachusetts Athletic Directors Association Class C semifinal, Gardner held Bromfield to a 1-1 tie through two 10-minute overtimes and then won on penalty kicks. Tuesday’s rematch was a different story.
Bromfield was first to score halfway through the first period on a ball tapped into the net by Listzwan with an assist by junior Gavin Holt. But barely a half-minute later, Gardner responded with a well-
executed counterattack that left Gardner’s Ruiz wide open right of the net for a pass from Gamache and a clear shot past goalie Madison, whose dive to the left was unable to stop the play. It was Madison’s only missed save of the evening.
Gardner pressed Bromfield for the remainder of the half, led by Wildcats Ruiz, Gamache, and freshman Victor Tovar, whose energetic play kept Bromfield’s defenders busy. But then, with less than three minutes remaining, Listzwan found an opening and fired his second goal of the evening into the net. As the half ended, the Trojans led 2-1.
In the second half, Bromfield capitalized on two of its six corner kicks to cement its lead. Six minutes into the period, senior co-captain Alex Myles lobbed the ball from Gardner’s right corner to Bradley, who had moved forward and was ready to fire Myles’ pass into the net to score the Trojans’ third goal. Then, with four minutes remaining and snow beginning to fall, Bromfield struck one last time with a well-executed corner from Myles to Listzwan, who put it away for the team’s fourth and final goal
The game was hard fought. Bromfield’s Myles and Gardner’s senior Chris Merchant both received yellow cards. The Wildcats were awarded the only penalty kick of the game, but Tovar’s shot sailed high over the bar. Listzwan was shaken up in a collision with a Gardner defender during the remaining two minutes of the game, and Coach Alex Horne elected to remove him to avoid injury to the team’s star forward.
The bleachers at the recently opened Harold G. Norton field in Ayer were packed with parents and fans, bundled up against the cold. The match began with temperatures in the low 30s, and ended with snow filling the air and dusting the field, obscuring the view of onlookers, like static on a 1950s TV.
In a postgame interview, Myles said the 4-1 win felt good. “Every year, especially this year, people are always saying that we’re not as good as last year and that this is the year that we’re not going to make it. So you know, it feels awesome to prove so many people wrong.” Myles acknowledged the disappointment the team and fans had felt losing the CMADA semifinal to Gardner. “We’re back where we belong.”
In the upcoming MIAA Division 5 state final, Bromfield will face No. 2 seed and perennial rival Sutton (10-3-4) for the championship. The game is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19, at Doyle Field in Leominster at a time yet to be determined.
“We want to play against the best,” said coach Horne after the game. “Sutton’s the other ‘best team’ in Division 5. “I think we’re better and it’s our chance to prove it on Saturday.”
Bromfield’s Brendan Listzwan (#10) manages to kick his third goal of the game through Gardner defenders and a snow squall. (Photo by Kent Boynton)
Editor's note: This article has been corrected and updated. In the original article, backfielder Colin Martel was misidentified.
