A Big Win at Wheeler

The Bulldogs concluded their week on the road with a visit to the Wheeler School on a beautiful, busy day of athletic competition. The boys' varsity game kicked off an afternoon of competition followed by the girls' soccer team and wrapped up with our field hockey and volleyball teams matching up against our inter-state EIL foes. Perhaps it was the long bus ride, or more likely it was the talented and athletic Wheeler team, but in any case, Berwick found themselves defending for much of the opening stages of the game. Commitment in this area, however, was rewarded when an upfield pass broke for Amir Makdad who pushed it past a pair of defenders before catching the goalie off his line and drilling a shot above and beyond him from 30 yards out. While our 1-0 advantage certainly ran against the run of play, you could sense that BA had more to deliver, so it was less than ten minutes later when Justin McLaughlin cleverly played Lucas Milne in behind the defense. Lucas capped off his nicely timed run by rounding the keeper and slotting home a finish that would give the visitors a 2-0 lead, one that they would hold onto for the next 50 minutes. Inspired with where they stood in the game, the second half saw Berwick matching every offensive thrust of Wheeler with organized and committed defensive efforts. When needed, goal-keeper Jak Loughlin rose to the occasion and confidently protected the lead. All in all, it was a very satisfying trip to Wheeler, wrapping up a successful week of soccer. Next week sees a visit to Landmark before hosting a key EIL game with Concord Academy.