Bruin boys soccer and head coach John Silveira finished regular season play Saturday afternoon in what basically amounted to a warm-up game with both teams posturing for position as the post season ramps up.
Two teams with two different gameplans met at Bruin field Saturday, with St. Mary’s, sitting undefeated in regular season play, looking to play a control game, polish up ball control and get out of Brookings with a win, and the Bruins looking to get the win to possibly improve their position in the post season, as well as avenge an early season loss to the Crusaders and put a blemish on their record.
Both teams were conservative and cautious to start the first half, leery of each others ability to score quickly, not wanting to risk committing a mistake that could result in a goal. The Bruins attacked the wings with their speed but the St. Mary’s defense pushed those attacks away, and then countered the Bruins up middle.
As the second half continued, the Crusaders dropped into an offside trap defensively, pushing the Bruins and much of the play into the Bruins half of the field, getting a couple quality shots on goal that Bruin keeper RJ Hendrix pushed away to keep the score tied at 0-0 until the 19th minute, when St. Mary’s squared up at the top of the box and put it in the right corner to give the Crusaders a 0-1 lead.
The very disciplined Crusaders then spread the field, filled the Bruins passing lanes and passed the ball around them, taking them out of position as the scrambled for possession. This opened opportunities to push their offense in front of the Bruin goal again, and this time the Bruin defense fouled the shooter in the penalty box, setting up a Crusader penalty resulting in a 0-2 St, Mary’s lead at the 24 minute mark.
Just minutes later, the Crusaders would be in Bruin penalty box again, committing a hand ball on the shot, setting up another Crusader penalty shot and a 0-3 lead St. Mary’s would take the half time break.
In the second half, the Bruins made their adjustments, committed to an off-side trap defensively and slowed the St. Mary offense considerably, however that commitment to defense cost them offensively, and though they held the Crusaders scoreless for much of the second half, they could not get the goal they needed. Just over 70 minutes into the game, the Bruins fouled the Crusaders outside the penalty box, and the cross into the goal box, found a Crusader forward, and the back of the net, giving St. Mary’s the 0-4 lead that would be the final score.
“We went into this season knowing our team camaraderie was strong.” coach Silveira said after the game. “building stronger relationships amongst themselves which payed off for us when we had to play a portion of our season without a couple of our student athletes. My staff and I are all incredibly proud of the hard work and effort these athletes have put in, and the level they continue to play at, look forward to the challenges ahead, and are hopeful for a good playoff run”
