The 17-0 Brookings-Harbor Bruin varsity boys soccer team traveled to Portland Tuesday after advancing past Saturday’s quarterfinal round defeating the St. Mary’s Crusaders 4-0. Saturday’s win set up a semifinal match-up with the 14-2-1 Oregon Episcopal Aardvarks.
The OSAA #2 ranked Aardvarks brought a very individually skilled team to the pitch Tuesday afternoon with a specific game plan designed to neutralize the Bruins strength, speed.
Although the Aardvarks were very skilled, they were not particularly fast, on offense or defense. The Bruins have consistently compressed the field forcing teams to play without making ball handling errors in close quarters. The Bruins consistently exploited these handling errors by creating fast break opportunities, beating the defense to the ball and creating scoring situations in front of the goal.
The Aardvarks were prepared, and developed a game plan that spread out the field creating large spaces in the mid field. Oregon Episcopal conceded the speed factor and never attempted to hold the Bruins in an off-side trap. Instead they dropped their two middle defenders back and confident with their ball handling skills were content to maintain possession by playing the ball clear back into their own penalty box stretching the field and negating the Bruin fast break.
This created a large gap in the midfield and as the Bruin defensive midfielders dropped back into defensive positions, those large open areas gave the Aardvarks the advantage controlling loose balls and Bruin clearances typically used to start Bruin attacks.
The Bruins still had their opportunities and the Bruin defense led by Bruin goalkeeper Juan Hernandez, middle defender Aden Carpenter #7 and defensive mid-fielder Jake Beaman #17 all had outstanding games clearing the Bruin defense on multiple occasions and holding the powerful Aardvarks scoreless in a first half that ended in a 0-0 tie.
After the half-time break the Aardvarks adjustment was to attack, and attack they did, putting pressure on the Bruin defense that created many scoring opportunities dispatched by Bruin keeper Juan Hernandez.
The Bruins attacked on transition but just could not break away and with Oregon Episcopal keeping the Bruins in front of them and not allowing open shots, it was difficult for the Bruin offense to organize and get off outside shots.
24:00 minutes into the second half everything would change after Oregon Episcopal’s Kennedy Balandi #17 received an Aardvark throw-in at the edge of the box. Balandi spun and fired a hard shot past Hernandez into the corner of the goal, putting the Aardvarks up 1-0 64:00 minutes into the game.
The score forced the Bruins to press and take risks to get more opportunities in front of the Aardvark goal. The Bruin offense worked the ball down to the Oregon Episcopal penalty area had opportunities from corner kicks and a free kick after a foul, but just could not get the ball into the net.
Oregon Episcopal would take advantage of the pressed up Bruin offense, work the ball in front of the Bruin goal, and after a give and go break, again, Oregon Episcopal’s Kennedy Balandi #17 pushed the ball into the Bruin goal with 12:00 minutes left in the game.
The Bruins rallied in front of the Aardvark goal working the ball deep into the Oregon Episcopal defense, getting off some shots as time ran out on the Brookings-Harbor Bruin varsity boys soccer team’s extraordinary 2019 championship season.
Congratulations to Head Coach Jess Beaman and his 45-4-2 overall Bruin record, his staff, and of course the 17-1, #3 OSAA ranked, 2019 repeat 3A/2A/1A-SD4 Special District 4 league Champion Brookings-Harbor Bruin varsity boys soccer team.
