By Doug La Rocque
First to enter the sectional fray were Berlin’s Boys, who traveled to Cambridge last Thursday to take on the Indians. Berlin came out strong dominating the first half play, scoring early on a goal by Tyler Kellar. [private] The assist going to Addison Colon. The Mountaineer’s second goal came from single season scoring champ Ryan Willis. Berlin took a 2 – 1 lead into halftime. But Cambridge had the best of it in the second half, scoring twice and holding Berlin off the board. The Indians’ game winning goal coming with just seven minutes left to play. Berlin swarmed the net in the final minutes but just couldn’t finish.
Speaking with The Eastwick Press, Coach Art Schmich said, “this year’s team was a great mixture of 9 seniors and underclassmen, who had some big shoes to fill from the 2015 team.” One of the most pleasant surprises was the play of Sam Mikit in goal. There was an expected void with the graduation of Jackson Burhans, considered by many to have been the best keeper in Section 2. Mikit stepped up, played extremely well and turned concern into a strength for the team. Schmich was also very proud of his defense. Citing the contributions in particular of Nick Tripepi, who came off the bench to become a strong everyday player. The play of Anthony Santon, Connor Douglas and Seiji Akerra also drew the coach’s praise. The play of the underclassmen was led by Junior Ryan Willis, who broke the team’s single season scoring record this year, netting 34 regular season goals. Schmich says “winning the CHVL title was one of our goals and we accomplished that. Our biggest disappoint was losing our sectional game by not playing a strong second half.” The coach said it was a fun and dedicated group to coach. He hopes next year’s team will continue to raise its level of play, as they contend for a fourth consecutive league crown and break a two-year draught in the sectionals.
Lady Mountaineers Shut Down By Stillwater
Saturday night’s game was played in horrible conditions as wind, rain and cold hampered both teams. The Warriors came off their home field with a 4-0 win. Berlin, stepping back up into Class C, had the misfortune of drawing the eighth ranked team in the state. Despite losing their second sectional game in as many years, Coach Fleda Berschwinger described it as “a very successful season.” She was most happy with the girls’ skill development and coming together as a team. She felt they really enjoyed competing and playing as a unit. Berschwinger also had praise for her younger players as well as the seniors. She hopes they can develop as a comprehensive group that can start to fill the void that will be left by the graduation this spring of the school’s overall scoring champion Jewel Pietrzak.[/private]