The Bromfield boys extended their winning streak to four games last week after blitzing a young Lunenburg squad 6-0 at home last Thursday, Sept. 18, and narrowly beating Dearborn STEM Academy of Roxbury 1-0 away on Saturday, Sept. 20.
Three weeks into the season with four wins and one tie, the Trojans (4-0-1) were tied for first place with the Tyngsborough Tigers (4-0-1) in the Midland-Wachusett C Division.
As last Thursday’s game against Lunenburg got underway, temperatures hovered in the low 80s under a mostly cloudless sky. The referees called for one-minute water breaks halfway through each half. Fans clustered under the trees on the Harvard Park embankment.
Bromfield’s starting 11 quickly ran up the score. Junior Greg Urquhart scored first barely six minutes into the game, firing up the offense. Senior co-captain Jake O’Neil was next with a blast to the top of the Blue Knights’ net, followed by Urquhart again and shortly after the first water break, by seniors Amir Kinayman and Tal Raines. With 17 minutes remaining in the half, Bromfield led 5-0 and subs had replaced most starters.
Senior co-captain Liam Glew (center) calmly looks to dribble past a sliding defender in Bromfield’s 6-0 win against Lunenburg, Sept. 18. (Photo by Julian Kosciak)
Lunenburg tightened its defense in the second half and held off repeated Bromfield attacks, but Blue Knights attackers were unable to move the ball into Bromfield territory. Bromfield’s goalie, senior co-captain Jacob Dangel, spent most of the game watching the action from afar.
Trojan attackers fired off at least six shots on goal in the second half that were either saved by Lunenburg’s goalie or missed their mark. The team was penalized three times for being offside. With six minutes remaining, however, junior Thomas Sintros found an opening and scored Bromfield’s final point, a head shot into the goal, punctuating the Trojans’ decisive 6-0 victory.
Senior co-captain O’Neil said in a postgame interview that he felt communication among team members had been the best of the season. “I feel like passes were always going to feet; we weren’t just kicking the ball to space. I think we played really well as a team today.”
With little pressure from Lunenburg’s offense, goalie Dangel had a less eventful game. “A game like today’s is obviously not very entertaining for me because I’m not getting much action,” he said. “But I think that those are the best types of games, because that means my team’s doing their job and my defense is doing their job.”
Two days later, in their away game against Dearborn, Bromfield’s offense once again scored quickly in the first five minutes of play on a shot by senior co-captain Liam Glew. In an email, Coach Alex Horne said the team had four more solid shots on goal, but two hit the Dearborn post and two hit the crossbar in a game that taxed the defenses of both teams.
Bromfield was scheduled to next play league rival Littleton in an away match Sept. 25, followed by another away game, this time against Oakmont on Saturday, Sept. 27.
