Head coach John Silveira and his Brookings-Harbor high school varsity boys soccer team hosted the 3-0 St. Mary’s Crusaders Thursday afternoon, and things went wrong quickly.
The Bruins have been plagued with routine errors at inopportune times that have really set the team back early in the season. Friday was no exception, as a routine skill set in the defensive backfield became a costly mistake, and the Crusaders pounced, quickly closing the distance to the goal and scoring just 29 seconds into the contest, putting the Bruins down 0-1 just seconds after the initial kick-off.
The Bruins would regroup, and wage a defensive battle that would slow the Crusader attack. The battle to control the mid-field became very important, as both teams struggled to form any offensive continuity or build up through the mid-field, instead relying on fast break opportunities to score.
Brookings-Harbor would only create a handful of scoring opportunities as the Crusader defense pushed most offensive attacks to the outside limiting shot opportunities.
The Crusaders would break the game open at the 61:00 minute mark, scoring on a misplaced Bruin clearance and driving at the Bruin keeper and putting the ball in the corner of the net. Now leading 0-2, the Bruins attempted to mount an offensive attack, leaving the mid-field and defense compromised as most players moved into offensive positions to get a goal.
The Crusaders would score again with just under 10:00 minutes left to play, and again just before the game clock expired, taking a 0-4 win back to Medford.
The Bruins are on the road Monday, September 26th, to challenge the now 3-1 Lakeview Honkers in Medford, with kick-off scheduled at 4:00pm.
