Where do I start? Brooks faced a very talented South Kent team today in the Class B final. Unfortunately, things did not turn out as we had hoped. They did turn out as we expected though. South Kent has won this title 4 years in a row now and 7 out of the last 8 years. Everyone asks why they aren't moved up to Class A. There is no real answer to this question. The game itself was tighter then the score indicated. South Kent got an early break on a rare mistake by Sam. Sam tried to clear it but mis-hit the ball which ended up just sitting there near the end line. The SK player found it on his foot and only Cam in front of him. With the ball on his right foot, closest to the line, and Cam covering the angle very well, there was only one place to put the ball. High top corner on the short side. He shot off the outside of his right foot and the ball curved right up into the corner. A perfect shot. An amazing shot.
Brooks continued to apply pressure up the other end, and was dangerous, but nothing to show for it. Seve, Gregg, Patrick, Elijah & Zach all had opportunities. A bit later, South Kent had a corner kick at the Brooks end. Instead of lofting the kick into the box, the set play had the ball go to the top of the 18 and a defender came flying in and blasted a header to the top left side. Another amazing goal. Brooks continued to pressure, but nothing paid off. Outside of the 2 goals, South Kent did not have much possession in the Brooks end. Most of the play was in the attacking end for Brooks. The fact that Elijah and Zach were still less than 100% was still a factor, but even at 100%, I'm not sure how much different things would have been. This was the most solid high school team I had ever seen. Not one weakness.
On to the second half. And play continued as it had. About 10 minutes in there was a very bizarre moment on the field. Jory tried to clear the ball, but it went right back at Cam. It looked like a shot on goal. I was sure that the South Kent player deflected it but the referee thought otherwise. He called a back pass to the keeper which the keeper picked up and played. He awarded a penalty kick to South Kent. South Kent executed another set play with a quick touch by one player then a second player blasted a perfect shot to the far top corner. An amazing shot again. But everyone on the sideline was unsure of why the shot was awarded.
The rest of the game had Brooks doing their best to claw back in. Brooks had their chances with Elijah going just wide on one shot. A Jory corner again going just wide. The two best chances of the half came on headers from Zach. After a bit of a scrum in the box, the ball bouncing around a bit, Zach goes up and gets his head on the ball. Due to my angle, I see it heading directly to the top left corner. I'm about to jump and begin screaming wildly when a South Kent defender comes out of nowhere and heads the ball wide of the net. We all looked at each other and shrugged our shoulders. What else was there to do? About 5 or so minutes later a similar situation in the South Kent box. Again I see Zach go up, get his head on the ball. At the same time I see an elbow smash him in the back of the neck and another defender knee him in the thigh. He falls down in a heap as the ball moves toward the open left side. Trying to watch him and watch the ball go to the net was like watching slow motion video. Unfortunately, yet again, a South Kent defender came from nowhere and was horizontal across the net heading the ball away just before it crossed the line. Brooks ended up with a corner kick. Everyone tried to help Zach up and see if he was ok. Even the South Kent players were trying to help him. He pushed everyone away shook his head and lined up for the corner. He did not get into the pile this time, so I know he was feeling something after those hits.
A short while later the game ended. South Kent celebrated another championship. The Brooks team hugged each other and mulled around a bit on the field watching the celebration. Zach went over to the bench by himself. I wasn't sure if he was hurt or if he just needed some time alone. As I watched him, elbows on his knees, his hands behind his head, face down towards the ground I realized he was crying. This kid puts his whole heart, soul and body into this Brooks team and this loss was surely devastating for him. After a few minutes, some of the guys realized what he was doing and ran to him, hugging him and picking him up in the air. Lots of hugs.
I inched my way across the field, wanting to give him space but also wanting to give my boy a great big hug myself. Wanting to let him know what a great job he and the guys had done this year. How proud I was of the emotion and effort he put into every game. How proud I was to watch him play. How proud I was, and embarrassed at times, to accept the praise from the parents of his teammates and sometime opposing parents. But mostly, I wanted to let him know how proud I was of him. How proud I was to be his dad!
It's sad to think that this concludes Zach's third high school soccer season. I look forward to the next season with mixed emotion. On one side, I expect it to be the best year of all for Zach and I'm very excited about that. On the other side, it will be his Senior year and it may be the last year I get to watch him with such regularity. I'm sure there will be 4 more years of soccer for Zach after next year. I'm just not sure where those years will be and how often I will be able to attend. This year end had another bit of sadness mixed in as well. Elijah and Zach played their last game together. They sure were something to watch together. Maybe, just maybe they will play together again in the future!
