BROOKLINE – With just over 20 minutes left in the second half, Brookline boys’ soccer was faced with a two-goal deficit, and its season was on the verge of coming to a close.
The No. 21 Warriors responded with three unanswered goals, including the game-winner with less than five minutes left from senior Wally Lawrence, to steal the 3-2 victory from No. 28 Winchester and advance to the quarterfinals of the Div. 1 tournament.
“I knew we always had a chance,” Lawrence said. “This team, throughout the whole year, we battled hard and fought through every little piece of adversity. It was exactly what I dreamed of, I couldn’t be more proud of this team.”
Both the Warriors and Red and Black had taken down higher-seeded opponents in the first round, and the first half made it look like Winchester would claim a second consecutive road victory.
The Red and Black controlled the pace of play in the opening half, sending several shots on net and even dinging the crossbar twice. The goal came off the foot of Tom Duval, who found a loose ball in the front of the net and buried it in at the 14th minute.
The Red and Black carried the 1-0 lead into the half and struck again at the 57th minute off the foot of Adam O’Riordon.
“We made a pretty bad mistake there in that first half on the first goal, and then they scored a great goal in the second half,” Brookline head coach Kyle Beaulieu-Jones said. “We did a great job of keeping our composure. We knew that they could have a mistake in them as well, and to just keep going.”
It did not take long for Brookline to get on the board, as just a few possessions later, senior Jonah Lipman fired the ball through to make it a 2-1 game.
Several minutes later, it was Koya Nicoli who sprung loose in front and the senior made a diving shot that found the back of the net. With the game now tied, Nicoli wasn’t even able to get up immediately as his teammates swarmed to him.
“It was amazing,” Nicoli said. “I wanted to celebrate, but my legs, they failed me. That was the last push we needed.”
Brookline had seized full momentum at this point, but the score was still tied when the clock reverted to the time on the field. Multiple minutes into this portion, a bouncing ball got around the Winchester defenders and found its way to Lawrence with an open field.
“I was surprised it broke for me, to be honest,” Lawrence said. “It was super lucky, I’m really happy that it fell to me and I took the opportunity.”
His dagger put Brookline ahead for the first time, and seconds later, the final horn sounded. The Warriors will now travel to No. 13 Concord-Carlisle for the quarterfinal round.
“This is the most connected I have ever felt with a team before,” Nicoli said. “It’s just a surreal feeling. Being able to play with the guys on the home field with all of the fans and everything, we feel even stronger now.”
