The boys soccer team wrapped up its 2025 regular season with back-to-back shutouts of the Groton-Dunstable Crusaders (4-0) and the Hudson Hawks (6-0), finishing first in the Midland-Wachusett Division C League for the first time since 2021 and advancing to second place in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association power rankings. Both games were played at home.
Isaac Balicky (#2) gets a double team of defenders as he fights to control the ball. (Photos by
Julian Kosciak)
The Trojans’ skills were on display in both games. In the face-off with Groton-Dunstable Regional Oct. 25, junior fullback Finn Candon led the scoring just minutes into the game with a direct kick from midfield that struck the Groton-Dunstable net’s crossbar and dropped behind the goal line. Sophomore Isaac Balicky followed later in the half with a shot that increased Bromfield’s lead to 2-0.
The team scored twice more in the second half, the first by Balicky with an assist by junior Connor Duhame and moments later by senior Ryan Cardoso. In the final minutes of the game, Groton-Dunstable appeared to have scored, but a penalty called by the referee moments before the ball rolled into the net preserved the 4-0 shutout, which went to senior goalie and co-captain Jacob Dangel.
Bromfield’s 6-0 win against Hudson on Oct. 27 was the team’s 14th shutout this season. Senior captain Liam Glew notched a pair of goals, and Cardoso, senior Tal Raines, junior Julian Holt, and Balicky added to the 6-0 total. Dangel was credited with the shutout. The team’s defenders have allowed only six goals this season, possibly a team record, according to Glew.
Tal Raines (#9) successfully steals the ball from a Groton-Dunstable opponent.
The Oct. 25 game against Groton-Dunstable was also senior day for the Trojans. The game began with an all-senior lineup, replaced by the team’s underclassmen starters after about 15 minutes of play. By game’s end, Coach Alex Horne reported, every player on the team’s 22-player roster had been given time on the field.
Following the game, the team gathered below the Harvard Park embankment where each received a bouquet of flowers, prepared by the wife of Assistant Coach Tom Hill, and a tribute from a teammate—followed by cookies and cider. The team will lose 12 graduating seniors this year.
With its regular season ended, the team was preparing this week for the start of the MIAA Division 4 tournament. Following its recent four-game winning streak—all shutouts—the team has advanced to the no. 2 position in MIAA’s most recent power rankings, second only to Sutton, a perennial opponent in the playoffs. The Trojans’ power ranking guarantees that early rounds of the tournament will be played at home in Harvard Park. Tournament brackets and dates are due to be released Nov. 1.
