Brophy 1
Chaparral 0
By Michael Moroney ’13
THE ROUNDUP
Only one goal was scored Wednesday night in Brophy soccer’s rematch Jan. 18 against the Chaparral Firebirds, but that was all it would take for a 1-0 victory.
“We went into the game knowing we had a fight on our hands,” said starting defenseman Ian Poblete ’13.
The Broncos avenged an earlier loss to the Firebirds, a 2-1 overtime defeat that is still Brophy’s lone non-tournament loss of the season.
“We were a much different team back then than we are now,” said head coach Mr. Marc Kelly ’87. “Obviously we loved to avenge the loss at home.”
A ricochet score by midfielder Tyler McGehee ’12 gave Brophy the go-ahead goal with about 6 minutes remaining in the first half.
“He’s one of our senior leaders and you would expect him to step up in a big games and that’s exactly what he did,” Mr. Kelly said.
McGehee’s line drive kick hit a Chaparral defender and rolled into the goal as the Firebird goaltender stood at the other end of the crease.
“We knew they would have Riggs (Lennon ’13) double teamed so goals had to come from somewhere else,” Poblete said. “Tyler has worked hard all year for us and he deserved that goal.”
Just a few minutes after the score, Brophy had another opportunity when a Chad Ahrensdorf ’13 cross missed just wide of Lennon, the team’s leading goal-scorer.
Lennon had other opportunities throughout the game but came up short multiple times. His 15-yard boot sailed just high over the crossbar with about 21 minutes remaining in the first half.
“Riggs always has opportunities and we know he’ll take advantage next time,” Mr. Kelly said.
The second half was a back-and-forth battle between the two squads as the Firebirds scrambled to tie the game. Chaparral possessed the ball for a majority of the second half, especially in the closing minutes.
The Firebirds had multiple opportunities to tie the game but goalkeeper Nate Sundermeier ’12 and the Brophy defense foiled the attempts.
With just more than 20 minutes left in the game, a touch shot by a Chaparral striker barely missed the cage. The game was clinched with about 1:30 left on the clock when Sundermeier leaped into the air and punched a powerful Chaparral shot out of the crease.
The win advances the Broncos to 14-1-1 for the regular season along with a tournament win at the Arizona Soccer Showcase.
Brophy will play two more games this week with the Jan. 19 game against St. Mary’s and Senior Night on Jan. 20 against Deer Valley.
