On Tues., Feb. 11, the Benjamin Boys’ Varsity Soccer team took to Theofilos Field to play their regional quarterfinal game against Melbourne’s West Shore High School. Benjamin went into the game with high hopes, and an amazing record of 17-2-1 this season. This Boys’ Soccer Team appeared ready and fully equipped to make it through this first regional game, and possibly even to the State Championship. West Shore had a regular season record of 6-12 and was the first team Benjamin played in the playoffs.
Senior left fullback Giancarlo Di Leo explains the team’s plan going into the game; “We were planning to play our same game, trying to play hard and strong. We tried to play smart and tried to get good passes and play to all of our strengths.”
Benjamin scored the first goal, with Senior Ford Cash starting off the game well.
“Scoring the goal against West Shore was super fun. I got to celebrate with the boys and realized that we have a solid team,” explained Cash.
Then, the Wildcats scored, tying up the game 1-1. Senior Ethan Brown-Bergtold was able to break through the Buccaneer’s defense and score on Benjamin’s goalie and sophomore Andrew Rodgers.
“A ball got played in deep and our defender could not react fast enough, so West Shore’s striker was able to get past him and score a goal right over Andrew’s head,” shared Di Leo.
The game continued with various shots and defensive plays from both teams, but neither could seem to score the game-winning goal during normal playing time. By the end of the second half, the score was still 1-1 and the playoff game went into overtime.
Senior Maddox Hoffman shares how he thought the team played before overtime, “I thought we played fairly well but struggled to break through West Shore’s defense. They were very well organized and gave us very little time on the ball.”
In overtime, it became clear just how much the Buccaneers wanted to win this game and continue through the playoffs. Senior Maddox Hoffman scored an astonishing goal during the first half of overtime.
“Fortunately, I was able to score in overtime to win us the game,” stated Hoffman.
Benjamin was able to keep West Shore from scoring during the rest of overtime, leading to a Benjamin win of 2-1 against the Wildcats. With their confidence and ability continuing to improve, the Boys’ Varsity Soccer Team was able to secure a 1-0 win in overtime against Windermere Prep. The team moved on to the Regional Finals, which will take place on Feb. 19 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy.
Cash discusses his hopes for the future, “I’m optimistic about our chances but we have lots of big games coming up that we have to win.”
