by Jacob Schwartz
One questionable penalty call ended up costing boys’ soccer, 2-7-4, a win in its 1-1 tie against Brookline at Skyline field Wednesday, according to senior Andrew Leaper.
In the middle of the second half, with the Tigers clinging to a 1-0 lead, a foul was called on a Tiger defender during a Brookline corner kick.
The penalty on senior Seamus Bruno was not a fair call, according to Leaper, with the Brookline forward appearing to “trip over himself,” he said.
However Leaper, a captain with seniors Robert Morgan and Mike Gavris, said overall the Tigers deserved to win. “We outplayed Brookline offensively and defensively and took control of the game early on.”
Only giving up the penalty-kick goal, Leaper excelled in the goalie box. Late in the second half, a Brookline midfielder broke free from the defense and drilled the ball high and toward the middle of the net only to be tipped up off the crossbar by Leaper. “I just barely got my hand up in time,” he said.
The combination of a successful Tiger defense and Leaper in the net proved too much for Brookline for most of the game. Brookline assistant coach Katze Jenson said the Warriors were “a little impatient with the ball. After a while though, we settled in.
“We also had a few moments where our defenders were losing their men.”
In what was the epitome of Brookline’s defensive slip ups, junior Stanley Alves raced ahead of defenders late in the first half in a thrilling fast break opportunity. “He made a great run with the ball,” Leaper said.
“It was a perfectly placed shot,” he said. “There is no way the goalie would have gotten to it.” Alves’ shot landed in the bottom right corner of the net.