Boys Varsity Soccer vs Grace Brethren

February 8, 2017

Cate captain Christian Herman ’17 went into beast mode in the second half of Cate’s 2-1 league victory over Grace Brethren on Monday, February 6. The Rams started sluggishly and allowed Grace Brethren a number of good scoring opportunities, one of which they made good on in the 16th minute of play. The rest were turned away by keeper Cullen Barber ’19. Cate went into the break down 1-0, but came out in the second half and jumped all over Grace Brethren. Herman ’17 scored just three minutes into the half–a low rocket just inside the near post from about 25 yards. Four minutes later, Herman ’17 went 50 yards with the ball on the left wing and placed a shot over the Grace Brethren keeper who came out to smother the ball. From that point on, with a 2-1 lead, the Rams tightened up their defense and Barber ’19 controlled the box in the air to limit Grace Brethren to very few legitimate opportunities.

Of special note, besides Barber ’19 and Herman ’17, brilliant performances were turned in by Caden Cutter ’18 at right back and Chris Figueroa ’17 at left back. And in the middle, Henry Walsh ’17, Baker Fox ’19, and Ryan Borchardt ’17 made life impossible for the Grace Brethren attack. Fox ’19 and Jack Deardorff ’19 also added assists on Herman’s ’17 goals. Barber ’19 finished the day with 13 saves–some of them really fantastic.

“We started the game kind of flat and Grace Brethren took advantage. We weren’t marking with any enthusiasm and we weren’t creating many combinations offensively. And frankly, we were disappointed with ourselves at halftime,” said Cate head coach Pete Mack of his team’s early game struggles.

“But to give our guys their due, they came out in the second and stymied a very good team. We opened up our attack, played simple balls into space, and really wore Grace Brethren down on both sides of the ball. We were under control and communicating well. It was a really fun 40 minutes to watch,” Mack added.

The Rams will take on Grace Brethren again on Wednesday, February 8 in the final game of the season for Cate. Start time for that contest will be at 3:15.