You know you had a good day on the soccer pitch when even the opposition is impressed with your team’s performance.
Head coach Christian Gonzalez got to experience that feeling first-hand Monday afternoon after his Brunswick School soccer team took care of a very talented Loomis Chaffee School 4-1.
“It was all them in the first half,” Loomis head coach Charlie Bour said. “This is my fifth year coaching at Loomis and I’ve never seen a Brunswick team that skillful, that possession-based and that confident in keeping the ball. It was unbelievable. They put us away for sure and we are a group that needs to try and play a little more like that. My hat’s off to Brunswick. Great sportsmanship, a great group of kids and nice coaches. I think they are going to do some big things this year.”
With the victory, the Bruins started the season 2-0, a feat hasn’t happened in quite awhile for the school.
“”It feels really good and it was a complete team effort from start to finish,” freshman James Sands said. “It’s great to start the season 2-0.We have a great coach, some great players and things are looking good.”
Freshman Will Sands scored twice for the Bruins, while senior captain Sal Lopez and junior Luis Hernandez each netted a goal.
“It’s an experience that I don’t think we’ve had for a really long time here,” senior captain Sal Lopez said. “There’s been years where we win the first game some times and others we don’t, but we don’t really come out 2-0. So to do this is great. It gives us a lot of momentum going forward.”
Right from the start against Loomis, Brunswick flexed its muscle, something that was music to Gonzalez’s ears.
“That was our style of play,” Gonzalez said. “We try to dominate possession and it starts from the back. That’s exactly what we did. It was a beautiful first goal off a 12-pass sequence, ending with a beautiful goal. I thought we dominated play and I thought it was a little unfortunate that we gave up that goal at the end of the first half, but I was determined to seal the win in the second half and we did that.”
Will Sands was able to get the Bruins on the scoreboard with 24:56 to play in the first half and get darted up the middle and hit the shot past the Loomis goalie for the 1-0 lead.
The turning point took place with 12:15 to play in the opening half. With Loomis pressing, they connected on a one-timer opportunity in front of the net. Although the shot was fired at point-blank range, Brunswick senior goalie Wilson Salomon got a hand on the ball and made an incredible leaping save to keep Loomis off the scoreboard.
“Our goalie did an awesome job,” Gonzalez said. “I though the save that he made off the header when it was 1-0 was a game changer. That changed the momentum and gave us a lot more confidence that we could get the win. That set the tone for the rest of the game.”
A little over two minutes later, Brunswick came back and grabbed the 2-0 lead when Lopez was taken down in the box and was awarded the penalty kick. Lopez fired low and to the left corner to beat the Loomis goalie with 9:07 left in the half.
“We didn’t just come out and win,” Lopez said. “We came out and beat them well. When you have a 4-1 score, it’s big. It shows we have a big advantage at home. We play a risky game where we play out the back. We stay true to that and then once we get forward, we get creative in the attacking third and just score goals.”
With 2:21 to play in the half, Loomis got on the scoreboard and carried that momentum early in the second. With 41:46 to play in the game, Francis Fitzgerald had a up close shot at the goal, but again Salomon was there for the quick save. Less than five minutes later Aaron Dang blasted a shot for Loomis, but the ball sailed wide of the net by mere inches.
Working the ball patiently, Brunswick added an insurance goal with 20:51 to play. James Sands darted up to the net and fired a shot at the keeper. Although the shot was saved, Hernandez got control of the rebound and fired it in the back of the net for the 3-1 advantage.
“It was great to do that in the second half,” James Sands said. “We never doubted ourselves and played all the way to the end. We fought together. We move the ball around and everybody gets their touches on it. It’s a great team mentality.”
Less than four minutes later, the Bruins iced the contest when Will Sands gained control of the ball at midfield, outran several Loomis defenders and charged the net. The Loomis goalie came out to make the play, but Will Sands tapped the ball around the goalie and it found the back of the net with 17:20 to play to make the score 4-1.
“They showed tremendous character by not allowing the team to come back into the game,” Gonzalez said. “They are hungry to win and I think that showed today. It was awesome.”
