Bulldogs earn draw against tough Beaver squad

The Berwick Boys Varsity Soccer team played Beaver Country Day to a 1-1 tie in a rare Tuesday afternoon tilt.  In their best 80 minute effort of this young season, the Bulldogs battled a skilled and disciplined Beaver squad, earning the draw in a tightly contested match.   Knowing they needed to pressure the ball at all times, Berwick was again led by its defensive corps, which sustained steady pressure from Beaver for the duration of the match.  The team defense, however, began with the strikers whenever the ball changed possession.  Forwards Nate McCrone and Byron Welch worked tirelessly during the whole game, pestering the Beaver back line into rushed passes and creating obstacles for them at every turn.  After an early game adjustment to a strong attack from the left side, Marshall White shored up the right flank, guarding the dangerous Beaver striker, Jamie Kennedy, nearly shutting him down the entire match.  Mark Hoyt also had a particularly strong effort, leading the back line as they deflected every Beaver advance in the first half

 

While the Beaver goalie, Jesse Roberts, had a relatively quiet day, Berwick netminder Ian Randle may have been the man of the match who kept the Bulldogs in the game.   Randle’s first save was among his best, announcing to the Beaver squad that goals would be hard to come by with a diving catch of a point blank drive in the 11^th minute off a drive from Kennedy.  That would not be his best of the day as a sustained Beaver attack tested Randle eleven times over the 80 minutes.  Beaver tagged the cross bar once and had four corner kicks that tested the Bulldog defense and goalie repeatedly.

 

Both teams looked to adjust after a scoreless half, and both came out for the second frame re-energized.  Two minutes in, Beaver’s Kennedy finally broke through, nailing a goal to Randle’s right from fifteen yards out.  This early goal could have spelled defeat for the Bulldogs against a quality squad from Beaver.  Showing more mettle than at any other point this season, Berwick responded immediately.  Brendan Tribastone gathered a ball at mid-field, and put a through ball to Stephen Terenzio, who led a three on three attack on net.  Terenzio gathered the ball nicely, and with a deft first touch, nudged it just into the penalty box five yards left of the goal post.  With no other options as Beaver recovered quickly, Terenzio had but one play—a sliver of daylight, low to the near post.  Showing veteran poise, the senior striker drilled a left footed drive just inside the post past a sprawling Roberts to tie the game.

 

After those two quick scores, it was back to defense for Berwick and frustration for Beaver.  Randle again shone throughout the half, and none more so than in the 64^th minute when he had a save reminiscent of his finest moment against Dexter last week.  A Beaver midfielder found a rare moment of space from twenty yards out and blasted a shot to Randle’s left, bound undoubtedly for the upper right corner of the goal.  Somehow, Randle got a fingertip on it to glide the ball over the cross bar safely with the save of the game, preserving the 1-1 draw. 

 

Berwick will play EIL rival Concord Academy in Massachusetts on Saturday.