Bourne Boys' Soccer Reaches Semifinals With Victory Over Sacred Heart

By: Dan Crowley
Published: 11/08/12

 Back home for the quarterfinal round of the MIAA Division 3 South Sectionals, the 10th-seeded Bourne Canalmen (13-4-3) continued their winning ways with a 3-1 victory over Sacred Heart. Bourne won at West Bridgewater on Sunday, 2-1, in double overtime in first-round play. BHS moves to the semifinal round for the first time since 2007. They will take on 11th-seeded Dover-Sherborn (15-5-1) tonight at 7:15 PM at Pembroke High School.

“We wanted to get off to a fast start,” Coach Andrew Arki said, “and that’s just what we did.”

Jack Canterbury scored for Bourne in the opening minute of Tuesday’s match.

“Jack curved a shot beautifully into the top right corner of the net from about 35 yards out,” Coach Arki said. “It was one of those Jack goals, set up nicely by Eric Ohnemus.”

Bourne was winning the battle for the ball, controlling the clock and applying plenty of pressure in the Saints’ end.
“We just kept the pressure on them,” the coach explained. “We won the battle in chances. I’d say we had 15 to about three for them.”

In the 35th minute Blade Leavenworth set up Dan Baracchini with a cross that Baracchini tucked inside the far post, ending the first half with the Canalmen on top, 2-0.

It was more Bourne in the second half.

“We were in total control,” the coach said. “We had the ball 70 percent of the time and we just wore them out.”

With 15 minutes remaining in the match, the Saints took advantage of a rebound and kicked home their lone goal. Two minutes later Canterbury took a ball from Leavenworth and drove home his second goal of the match.

“Jack’s shot was from about 15 yards out,” Arki said. “It was a low shot that went into the bottom left corner. For most of the last 13 minutes, we held the ball. (Michael) Froman was fantastic in net for us and Lucas Cabral won 100 percent of his challenges. Eric Ohnemus did a nice job settling the ball and made some great passes. The boys played unselfishly and at their highest level. They played their game.”

West Bridgewater did everything possible to stop Canterbury, the leading goal scorer in Eastern Massachusetts, but in the end they couldn’t.

“We knew he would be fouled and double teamed,” Coach Arki said. “When people were on him, he was still making great passes. But when they went after Jack, everyone else stepped up and supported him. It was a total team effort today.”

Tied at 1-1 at the end of regulation, Bourne and seventh-seeded West Bridgewater (13-5-1) took the field for an additional 10 minutes of overtime and were still unable to break the tie. Then, a minute and 37 seconds into the second overtime, the Wildcats just couldn’t contain Canterbury anymore. From about 30 yards out to the left center of the WB net, Canterbury leaped into the air, meeting the ball in midflight, and drilled a hard shot that zipped past Wildcat keeper Michael Ames for the 2-1 win.

“We were focused the whole way,” Coach Arki said of his team. “We had the majority of chances in the overtime, but they had some pretty good opportunities as well.”

West Bridgewater was first on the scoreboard when Cameron Shamey converted off the rebound of a free position kick in the 15th minute. Two minutes later the Wildcats missed an open net. Bourne was quick to take advantage and in the 22nd minute MacGregor Nickerson took a leaping shot that went high into the net to knot the match.

In the second half the physicality and aggressive play intensified. BHS keeper Michael Froman made a very nice diving save to his left in the 50th minute. In the 68th minute Bourne pressed hard with several chances, but the Canalmen couldn’t get off a shot. The Wildcats tested Froman in the 72nd minute and again in the 75th minute. With less than two minutes to play in regulation, Froman made another solid stop, sending the match into OT.

West Bridgewater had a scoring chance six minutes into the OT, but once again Froman denied the Wildcats.

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