By Ed Niser eniser@nashobapub.com
HARVARD–
The Bromfield boys’ soccer team starts their postseason slate with the same foe they faced to begin the year, today against Littleton at 2 p.m. Littleton started the season 1-3 with notable losses to Bromfield and Lunenburg. The Tigers quickly rebounded, winning six of their last nine games to punch their ticket to the postseason. The Trojans find themselves in familiar territory, as going to the district tournament has quickly became old hat in Harvard.
” I really expect us to be the favorites playing at our home field. Our last two games were not good,” said Bromfield head coach Tom Hill. “At Sutton our defense played poorly, and at Oakmont our offense played poorly. We really can’t take these guys lightly.”
Bromfield is trying to get back to the way they played against Groton-Dunstable and Tyngsborough at the midpoint of the season. The key to the game will rest upon how the Trojans execute the fundamentals of the game on both sides of the ball. Bromfield needs to score early and keep the pressure on the Tigers not allowing them to try and claw back into the match. THe Trojans had a tough schedule coming into districts highlighted by teams like Sutton, Maynard and the defending Division-2 state champions Groton-Dunstable.
” We have to go out and put a good game together. Often times we will have a letdown,” said Hill. “We have to play with more consistency.”
Two years ago Bromfield drew Littleton in the first round of the district tournament and fell behind early in the first half. The Trojans luckily were able to hammer home two second half goals to advance to the second round.
Field conditions should not be an issue in this afternoon’s game as the air has been dry the last couple days. Bromfield’s Dylan Osgood leads the Trojans in scoring with 16-goals and three assists. The one-two punch of Osgood and Ezra Kraus have chipped in 25-goals for Bromfield this season.
The Trojans are primed and ready for the game, as Hill just hopes that all the pieces fall in place when the opening whistle sounds.
“When we see a team with a record like Littleton’s, we tend to get over-confident. Said Hill. “We got the easy side of the bracket not having to play Sutton until the final round, we’d like to get to the finals.”
Ross Cullinane-Brown, Kraus, Lucas Hickoc and Mark Ferguson are all players to watch out for in Friday’s match for the Trojans. Bromfield’s plan of attack is to be balanced on both defense and offense.
Hill is a seasoned veteran when it comes to coaching tournament games, and he expects to see a different style of play from his opponent than he saw previously in the regular season.
“Tournament games tend to be more cautious. I think Littleton will play more defensive minded and try to keep the game close as much as they can,” said Hill. “We just need to bide our time and be patient and hope the goals will show up. We want to win the game in regulation.”
