By SARAH COCHRAN, for The Democrat
The Brown County High School boys soccer team recently snapped a nine-game winning streak with a 1-2 loss to Martinsville.
But that did not break their resolve, as they came back to win last week against Jennings County on senior night, 3-2.
In only their third season loss Sept. 20, the team gained some valuable experience against the Artesians.
The match began with gusto for Martinsville, as the Artesians were quickly able to score their first goal on a free kick. Brown County’s goalkeeper, junior Chris Ratzburg, followed with a key save for the Eagles, stopping a penalty kick.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]The Eagles went into the second half of the match one goal down, but Martinsville soon managed another goal to widen the gap.
Brown County dug in their cleats with an increase in pressure and managed to maintain possession of the ball. With 8:45 left on the clock, Eagles senior Landon Cambridge managed to score off of a pass from teammate Logan Fittz.
The match ended with the Eagles coming up short one goal. Nevertheless, Coach Erich Nolan was proud of his team’s performance.
“In the second half, the players were awesome, especially considering that three of our starters were struggling with some injuries,” he said.
“Martinsville was a tough team with some really good players; so, all things considered, I am really proud of the boys.”
Going into sectional play this week, Brown County stands at 10-3-1.
Despite a pair of losses in recent weeks (the Eagles fell to Bedford North Lawrence in addition to Martinsville), Nolan maintains that his team shows great promise going in to the postseason.
“In the last two games, the level of competition has stepped up significantly,” he said. “Even so, against Bedford North Lawrence on Monday, we had more than twice as many shots on target. All the stats show that we dominated the game; we just weren’t able to make it pay.”
Fittz agrees with his coach.
“I think, overall, we are playing strong. We’ve been moving the ball pretty well, and we’ve been creating good chances, so I think we’re doing alright,” he said.
Sectionals will be played at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4 at Monrovia High School.
