Berwick Ties Concord

The Berwick Academy Boys Varsity Soccer Team tied Concord Academy, 1-1, in Massachusetts on Wednesday afternoon.  With fall weather finally showing up in New England and the leaves mostly on the ground, this was late-season soccer with much at stake for both sides:  the Bulldogs were looking for a post-season bid, while the Chameleons were looking to take the Eastern Independent League title.  Both teams played well all afternoon in a hard-fought, even match.  Seven minutes into the game, Berwick co-captain Brendan Tribastone took a 25 yard set piece that clanged right into the wall.  Moments later, outside fullback, Alex Fitzgerald, took a nice run out of the backfield and penetrated the penalty area, laid a good pass of to Tribastone, who hit a bomb wide right.  The Bulldogs broke the ice in the 14^th minute when Tucker Smith took a set piece from the right corner and put it on outside midfielder Jake Pike’s foot on the opposite end of the box.  Pike tapped a bouncer back to Tribastone, who hit a perfect half-volley to the far side netting to open the scoring on the day.  Only two minutes later, Smith gained the box and was dragged down by a Concord defender, drawing a foul and putting Tribastone on the penalty stripe.  Concord goalie Nate Drew guessed right and made his best save of the day, keeping the deficit at one.  In the 30^th minute, Bulldog goalie Evan Ney countered with his best save of the day, a diving stop on a laser from 16 yards out.  The defense of Sam Faasen, Pierce Wood, Ben Nigrin and Fitzgerald were strong til the closing whistle, at one point blocking four consecutive shots from Concord, any of which could have found the net if they got through.  Freshman Paddy Condon had a strong start, chasing down many balls up top and generally wreaking havoc on the Concord defense.

 

Up by a goal at halftime and playing a good brand of soccer but knowing the Chameleons would charge hard, the Bulldogs emerged from the huddle confident.  Concord did indeed come out flying and put Berwick under pressure from the opening whistle of the second half.  Ten minutes in, they broke through when a corner kick landed in the far side of the box, and the ensuing shot skittered under Ney’s hands.  The next 20 minutes saw the Bulldogs under relentless pressure, but withstanding every offensive foray Concord threw at them.  Ney was busy and diving repeatedly in both directions to keep the score tied.  The defense was impenetrable from there on out, with all hands on deck to keep the ball out of the net.  In a furious scramble in the last minute, bodies from both sides were flying all over the ground, but the score remained tied until the final whistle.

 

Berwick is 8-5-3 on the season, and closes its season in Rhode Island on Saturday against Portsmouth Abbey.