Brockton High boys soccer has rolled through September, but bigger goals await

BROCKTON -- Coming off of a stretch of five games in just 10 days, the Brockton High boys soccer team (5-1-2) was playing on tired legs on the road at Braintree on Thursday.

Despite battling fatigue, the Boxers came out with a 1-1 tie against the Wamps however they seemed to be the beneficiary of some favorable bounces that could have put them on the wrong side of the final score.

"We we're lucky today but you need luck in this league if you're going to be succesful," said Brockton head coach Hermino Furtado.

In the first half, a ball was chipped high in the air above Brockton goalkeeper Jelani Andrade. He tried to make an overhead save, but the ball bounced off his gloves and hit the crossbar where it bounced back out to a Braintree player, who kicked the ball harmlessly over the crossbar.

In the second half tied at 1-1, Braintree hit both goal posts on two separate shots, coming mere inches away from taking the lead. Andrade also had the ball stolen from him, but Braintree missed the net wide left attempting to take a shot one-on-one with Andrade.

Much of it was luck for the Boxers, but Andrade also made multiple diving saves throughout the match to keep his team in it.

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Furtado gave credit to his team competing until the end of the match even with the exhaustion his team was facing late due to the high energy Braintree had brought.

"The schedule is not easy. There's no easy games. Every game has been like this, we play until the last minute," Furtado said. "Kudos to my guys, They were strong, they finished strong and were lucky too, but I guess you need some luck to succeed in this competition."

The goal for Brockton came courtesy of senior forward Tcheva Jeudy, who sent a strike in from the left post just eight minutes into the second half. Braintree tied the game with 23:29 remaining in the game and send the match to a draw.

With a roster containing 15 seniors, four juniors, and just one sophomore, expectations remain lofty for the Boxers, who made it to the second round of the Division 1 state tournament in 2023.

"When you are from Brockton, the expectation is that you are going to go for the top prize," Furtado said . "We've got to aim high, but also understand that we have to take it one step at a time."

Dynamic duo in net

Andrade is part of a senior goalkeeper duo with Wilson Andrade. Together the two have been stellar this season, only allowing five goals in eight games, including a stretch of three straight shutout performances.

Furtado has rotated starts for the two keepers and committed to keeping that formula going forward. He had high praise for them after the game.

"Both of them have been good. We keep rotating them and we'll keep doing that. We're lucky to have two options," Furtado said

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Brockton High boys soccer has rolled through September, but bigger goals await