A Winning Streak for BUA Boys’ Soccer
Will Reason ’20 and Ewan Henderson ’20 share the following report of the BUA Boys’ Soccer team’s recent winning streak, starting with the Fall Festival game:
“On a cool evening under the lights of Nickerson Field, BUA Boys’ Soccer fought back to win 2-1 against Boston Trinity Academy at the Fall Festival match. In a game of great importance and greater drama, our fans rose to the occasion. Equipped with signs, cowbells, and vuvuzelas their passion made Nickerson into a fortress and struck fear deep into our opponents’ hearts.
Nevertheless, after conceding midway through the first half, and fighting futilely for an equalizer, we found ourselves trailing 1-0 with just six minutes remaining. All hope seemed lost, but nevertheless our fans rose en masse and walked across the bleachers to support us from nearer our opponent’s goal.
Feeding off the crowd’s energy, Nick Reason ’23 escaped his marker and flew down the right wing. As he approached the touchline, he put in a high-flying cross towards the back post. Or at least it looked like a cross before it soared over the keeper’s head and swerved into the top right corner, giving us an equalizer from the acutest of angles. Cue pandemonium. Our players swarmed our freshman hero but our resolved hardened as BTA kicked back off. We had more than just a draw on our minds.
The big clock behind their goal ticked down to five minutes and stopped, meaning the referee could end the game whenever he saw fit. With it all practically over, Will Reason ‘20 (and older brother to Nick) received a pass from Nico Moldovean ’21 and drove into the box. As a BTA defender stepped in to block his shot, he instead cut inside on his left foot before swiveling and slotting the ball into the bottom right corner of the net. Pure elation. Our players and fans lost their minds and the stadium became a bubbling cauldron of joyous noise.
But with a short time remaining, we needed to refocused and hold out to win. BTA came close to equalizing a few times over the remaining couple minutes, but our players held firm to close out the victory. To win in such historic fashion, in such an important game, was only fitting for a team that has fought so bravely to rise to the heights of the Division 1 table, and sets the stage well for the semifinal berth we hope to claim in the next two games.
Following the victory at Fall Festival, BUA Boys’ Soccer grabbed another win by beating CCA 3-1 and qualifying for the MBIL playoffs. We are still working out the scheduling details for our first playoff game, but it will likely be next Tuesday. Stay tuned, we’d love your support!