Trending
WELLSBURG – The Brooke boys’ soccer team wanted a win against Monroe Central, but it was not to be Thursday night.
The Seminoles jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, however, the Bruins battled back and knotted the score on two occasions as the game ended up being deadlocked at halftime. Brooke came out strong to start the second half, however, the Bruins were unable to get a shot into the back of the net and the game ended in a 3-3 tie in Brooke’s annual Cancer Awareness Game on Paul” Bud” Billiard Field inside historic Brooke Memorial Stadium.
“They caught us sleeping,” Brooke (5-11-3) head coach said about Monroe Central’s fast start. “They jumped on us and scored a couple of goals, but the team came back and scored a couple of goals, and we were good.”
After falling behind early, the boys in the pink shirts stormed back and knotted the score. Brooke’s first goal came on a rebound after a long-distance shot hit off the cross, and then the Green-and-Gold tied the score on a shot to the far post from near the top of penalty box to level the score at 2.
“We just made better passes and better runs,” Pepe said about what led to the turnaround for his team. “We were more aggressive with the ball. I am proud of the team. They played well. We would have liked to have gotten a win, but a tie is better than a loss.”
Jacob High contributed two goals to lead the way offensively for the Green-and-Gold, while Jacob Johnson chipped in with a goal and an assist. Jaxson Johnson also delivered an assist for the hosts.
Bronson Pack made nine saves in goal.
Luke Barnhardt tallied two goals to lead the way offensively for Monroe Central (6-6-4), while Conrad Hartzler collected a goal and an assist.
Monroe Central’s goalie made 10 saves in the game. He made five in each half.
The boys in the white jerseys struck first when they were dribble the ball in for the first goal giving the Seminoles a 1-0 lead. The boys from Monroe County struck again minutes later when they scored off a free kick on a shot to the first post making the score, 2-0.
Trailing by two, Brooke stepped up its level of play, and the Bruins stormed back to deadlock the score at 2.
The tie, however, did not last long.
Shortly after the home team scored to tie the score at 2, the visitors responded with a goal less than two minutes late. Monroe Central gained possession of the ball, and they had possession deep on Brooke’s defensive side. The Seminoles had the ball on the outside, and a pass was sent across the field and into the box where it was kicked into the back of the net to regain the lead for Monroe Central at 3-2.
Brooke found itself down again, but the Bruins were far from out of the game. This time, the team was able to take advantage of a breakaway opportunity to score the sixth goal of the first half to once again tie score.
Brooke took multiple shots from the outside during the first half. Monroe Central’s goalie was able to save the first two shots on goal from distance, the third shot from the outside sailed wide of the goal before the third one hit off the crossbar leading to Brooke’s first goal of the game. The Bruins had another chance on a shot from the outside, but the Seminoles’ goalie was able to make the save, however, he could not keep the ball in play giving Brooke a corner kick. Unfortunately for the Bruins, they were not able to take advantage of the corner kick.
The Bruins came out strong to start the second half as they looked to break the 3-3 tie.
Less than two minutes into the second half, Brooke just missed a goal on a shot to the far corner keeping the score even. Then, the Bruins had a direct kick attempt from just outside the box, however, the shot was saved at the near post about eight minutes into the second half. A couple of minutes later, an attempted cross by Brooke resulted in a corner kick, but the Bruins were unable to capitalize on it.
Monroe Central had an opportunity to score about 12 minutes into the half, however, Pack was in the right spot to save the long-distance shot. Pack came up a big a second time about two minutes later when he came off his line and stopped a breakaway opportunity for the Seminoles.
The tide then turned back to Brooke’s favor.
A couple of minutes after Pack stopped the breakaway chance, a long ball by the Bruins into the box bounced over players’ heads and out of bounds resulting in a goal kick with about 24 minutes left to play. Then midway through the second half, Brooke missed on an opportunity from in close off a corner as the shot was saved preventing the Bruins from taking the lead.
“We tried to score,” Pepe said. “Give credit to our kids. They played extremely well. Don’t take anything away from Monroe Central. They played well. They were aggressive. I don’t think we expected them to be as aggressive as they were as they were able to jump out to a 2-0 lead, but once we settled in we played pretty well.”
The Cancer Awareness Game is always a special one for the Bruins.
“We wanted to play for a cause and for a reason,” Pepe said. “We wanted to raise money to help people out. I think the boosters are going to donate the money we raised to help someone who is going through this right now. The girls’ are playing their Cancer Awareness Game right now against Catholic Central.”
Brooke is scheduled to play East Liverpool at 1 p.m. Saturday on the road up at Patterson Field. The game against the Potters is the last one of the regular season for the Bruins.
“We want to play as a team in our final game,” Pepe said. “We want to play together. We want to keep playing as a team.”
The draw for to determine the West Virginia post season is scheduled for today.
Monroe Central takes on Bishop Rosecrans at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at home in the Seminoles’ postseason opener.