by Kat Brabson
On a chilly Halloween night, the men’s soccer team prepared to face a tough Great Mills soccer team for the regional championship. The winner advances, and the loser goes home. After a grueling loss, 2-1 in double overtime against the Leonardtown Raiders, in the SMAC (Southern Maryland Athletic Conference) game, the team hoped to secure a win against the Hornets to push them into playoffs.
The first quarter of the match ended in a stalemate with both teams at 0-0. Seniors, Nick Haney, Tanner Bruce, and Eric Howard had a few shots at the goal but ultimately fell a little short. The Patriots’ defense was superb, defending off Great Mills strikers and blocking shots. With the speed of senior Jackson Goehle and the dominance of senior Kyle Brady, most threats on the goal were quickly extinguished. Junior David Martin had a couple of exceptional saves, leaping up just in time to save the ball from entering the net.
As the second quarter rolled around, both teams were hungry for a goal, however, the score stayed dormant until the nine-minute mark. Due to a free kick for the Hornets, Great Mills was able to score a goal with eight minutes and thirty-eight seconds remaining in the game. With a fire lit under them, the Patriots were able to make a couple of strong drives downfield toward the opposing goal but unfortunately fell short of scoring.
Overall, the boys had a stellar season. They went 11-0-0 in the regular season (including scrimmages) with their only losses to Leonardtown and Great Mills in the playoffs. Senior Nicholas Haney had the most goals this season with eighteen, followed by senior Eric Howard with ten, and senior Tanner Bruce with eight. Senior Kai Murphy and sophomore Liam Erly led the team in assists on goal with seven each. Goalkeeper, junior David Martin had thirty-four saved goals throughout eleven games.
Senior starters, Kyle Brady, Tanner Bruce, Jackson Goehle, Nicholas Haney, Eric Howard, Alexander Morse, Kai Murphy, and Samuel Whidden make up the majority of the starting lineup along with juniors John Stum, David Martin, and sophomore Liam Erly. Freshman Samuel Dick and sophomore Connor Renzi are regular subs. Criminology teacher, Ben Barley is their head coach. For the class of 2024, the loss was a heartbreaker seeing that it was their last time together as a group. Despite the end result of the game, all of the players handled the loss with amazing sportsmanship and class.
Photos courtesy of Harper Wilson.