Boys’ soccer fell to Brookline 3-2 last Friday in the first round of the MIAA North Sectional playoffs.
Brookline struck first to take a 1-0 lead late in the first half. “It’s tough to be down in a playoff game, but it also forced us to match their intensity,” said senior Filippo Menozzi, a captain with seniors Ethan Coomber and Sam Meiselman.
Several minutes later, junior Francesco Campione scored from just outside the goalie box. “It gave us a huge mental boost going into halftime,” said Menozzi.
North carried their momentum into the second half and constantly attacked Brookline’s defense. Several minutes into the half, Meiselman scored to take the lead.
With just over ten minutes left in the game, Brookline scored a goal off of a deflection to tie the game at 2-2. Both teams failed to score in the remaining 10 minutes, sending the match into extra time.
Neither team was able to score in the first extra time period, sending the game into a second overtime period. North had several shots that hit the goal post and crossbar. “During the game, the adrenaline was pumping to the point where we never really had time to focus on the tough breaks,” said Menozzi.
After neither team was able to score in extra time, the match went into penalty kicks.
Senior Jude Braithwaite and junior Max Johnston were the first two players to shoot for North. Both of them scored to give North a 2-1 lead through two of five rounds. “We practiced penalty kicks a lot in practice, and that hard work seemed to pay off,” said Menozzi.
After tying the game, Brookline scored a game-winning penalty kick in the sixth round. Friday’s loss marked the end of North’s season.
“It’s tough to go out that way, but I’m proud of the season we had,” said Menozzi. North finished their season 12-2-3.