Waiting for the
BB&N game was bad enough. Waiting for the Nobles game was even
worse! Nobels was 10-0-1 going into the game and leading the
league. Brooks was 9-2-1 and tied for second. Talk about a big
game!! Brooks came out hard and fast. In the first 10 minutes
Brooks had 5 corners and multiple scoring chances. Nothing crossed the
line. More chances ensued, but still nothing. As is normally the
case, the first chance Nobles had found the back of the net. Before the
half ended they struck again. A bit of sloppy defense off a corner and
bang, 2-0.
After the half, Sam took a nice feed from Andres, cut across
the top of the box and drilled a shot low to the corner. Momentum Brooks.
Unfortunately more sloppy corner coverage led to a 3-1 Nobles lead. It
looked bleak when Zach, seeming to have a wide open net, had the ball deflected
by the back heel of a defender falling to the ground. Out of nowhere, the
heel came up and tipped it away. It appeared that today was not Brooks'
day. Down to the last 5 minutes. Intense pressure by Brooks.
A great feed from the flank by Zach to Alex who immediately spotted Jon
streaking in on the left and it was 3-2.
Brooks dug the ball out and
retreated to center. The next minute or two were frantic in front of the
Nobles net. The ball popped up high, Zach went up to get it and headed in
the tying goal!! Can you believe it??? The last minute and extra
time had chances for both teams but the game ended tied. Unfortunately in
that last 2 minutes Zach took a knee to the thigh and was hobbled a bit.
On his last run to the net, he was kicked hard in almost the exact same
place. As the ball went back to the Brooks end Zach lay on the field rolling
around in pain. It took everything I had to keep myself from running onto
the field to see him. When the final whistle blew I did run out
there. As I reached Zach I inadvertently touched his leg exactly where he
was kicked and it appeared I was meeting a character from the Exorcist!!
Such language from my Zach?????? I guess it really hurt. I helped
him over to the bench with assistance from Dusty and Elijah. A cart took
him over to the trainers room where it was determined he had a deep thigh bruise.
Nothing serious thankfully.
A side note here, that goal has moved Zach up
to 6th place in scoring in the ISL. He's tied with Jon, one of the Brooks
captains!! Certainly a great accomplishment for a Sophomore!
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