Varsity Soccer v. Northfield Mount Hermon

The Varsity soccer team ended the season with an exciting game against a strong NMH team. Though the result was a 4-3 defeat, the team played very well and should be proud. NMH was in the mood to avenge a 1-0 EBS victory earlier in the season and came out of the gates quickly, taking the lead in the 6th minute. Juan Musi would level the score just a few minutes later though on a feed from Drew Parsons. EBS then took a lead in the 18th minute when Kojo Aduhene finished inside the box after Drew flicked on a header from a throw in. To begin the second half NMH again came out ready to play. For the opening 90 seconds of the half NMH strung together what must have been 20 consecutive passes, maybe the best passing sequence of any EBS opponent all year. Connor Buettner eventually poked the ball away from one of the NMH attackers though and began a textbook counterattack, with the ball going to Juan Musi first and then to Diego Gaxiola. Diego rounded the 'keeper and chipped the ball off the post and into the net from a difficult angle. Even with a 3-1 lead EBS knew the game was far from over. NMH continued to possess the ball impressively, and EBS remained dangerous on the counter. But unfortunately the NMH scoring opportunities eventually started to materialize more frequently as the EBS defense began to ware out. Three unanswered goals in the put NMH up 4-3 with nine minutes remaining. EBS attacked dangerously for the remainder of the game, including a shot from Diego that hit the post with no more than 30 seconds left in the game. A tie would have been a just result, but credit to NMH for playing a great game as well.

The Sixth Formers played the majority of the minutes as this would be there last soccer game at EBS. Connor Cherry, one of the most improved players this season, made 8 saves in goal; and Connor Buettner, Eugenio Lujambio and Dylan Weichselbaumer battled hard in defense, making several strong challenges and clearances. Zach Davis, Kojo and Drew did the dirty work in the midfield and also managed to contribute to the attack consistently. Diego's goal was his 13th of the season, making him the team's leading scorer.

Congratulations to all the boys for a great season with 7 wins, 4 losses and 2 ties. It was a hard working group that improved as a team and as individuals. Most importantly, though, was the camaraderie. The team genuinely enjoyed playing with each other every day and their collective attitude was always positive. Coaches Brown and Leyden are already excited about next season because of the large number of returning players.