Blind Brook boys’ soccer closes in on playoffs with important week
October 18, 2023 at 9:30 p.m.
The Blind Brook boys’ varsity soccer team had a week full of big games that were important for winning home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs. A few wins this week would seal that deal and make Blind Brook playing the first round of the playoffs in front of the home fan base a reality.
The Trojans began the week with a game early Monday morning, Oct. 9, at Pleasantville High School. Sophomore and star JV goalkeeper Asher Toll was called up to take the net for junior Luka Cuk, who was unable to play due to a red card in the previous game. This contest was going to be tough with such a big portion of the Trojans watching from the sidelines, but Toll stepped up and had the game the Trojans needed out of him.
Senior Ethan Leland came in with the first goal of the game for Blind Brook, assisted by junior Cameron Scott. With a 1-1 tied game with 32 minutes left in the second half, Blind Brook set up for a corner. Junior striker Nico Palacios dished it short to Danny Wilk, who made a move left on the defender and shot an absolute rocket into the top left corner from around 25 yards out to give the Trojans a 2-1 lead. The bench mobbed Wilk after he scored what is undoubtedly the goal of the year so far.
The two goals Pleasantville scored were on a great free kick and a deflection, both being out of Toll’s reach.
The 2-2 tied game went into overtime, where with five minutes left in the second half of overtime, Palacios gave a dime straight to senior captain Martin Otero, who finished off Pleasantville and gave the Trojans the overtime thriller win. This gave Toll his first varsity win in his first varsity game.
Back at it on Wednesday, Oct. 11, the Trojans traveled to Rye Neck, whom they beat two weeks ago by a close 1-0 score. It was a close, intense battle all game, and the Trojans proved to play very hard on the defensive front, working through the loud Rye Neck crowd. Senior winger Eli Zimmerman’s goal was not enough to push the Trojans to victory and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
A practice day later and on Friday, Oct. 13 Blind Brook was back and hosting Westlake before an all-blue crowd. The game was an even 0-0 throughout and regulation ended that way. The electric Blind Brook crowd was loud and hoping the first and last goal of the game would be one for Blind Brook. However, on a cross into the middle, the game ended with a Westlake game-winning goal and Blind Brook took the 1-0 loss.
The boys kept their heads high and looked to the next day, where on Saturday, Oct. 14, they would have an early morning game against the visiting Haldane. Despite a goal from junior Dylan McRedmond, the Trojans fell short again in a 2-1 loss.
The last week of the regular season is behind, and the Trojans have shifted their focus to the first round of the playoffs, which will take place on home turf on Friday, Oct. 20 against Albertus Magnus High School at 4 p.m. The Trojans ended the regular season with a 9-5-1 record.
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