Peaking At Right Time, Bruin Boys Oust Leonardtown

Broadneck’s boys soccer season, at least in the win-loss department, has been a case of two steps forward, one step back. The season has featured lopsided wins with good performances — like the 6-0 win over Old Mill, the 10-0 win over Suitland, and 4-2 wins over Annapolis and North County — and then a dip in form and a stunning setback: a 5-2 loss to Chesapeake on October 4 and a 4-1 defeat to South River in the county semifinals.

But the Bruins were diligently putting the pieces together behind the scenes, win or lose, hoping they would all work together on the same night when it mattered most.

The result: there would be no sad, silent two-hour bus ride home from Leonardtown this time.

Behind an all-hands-on-deck defensive effort and an 80th-minute goal from T.J. Remson, the Bruins eliminated the defending state champions 1-0 on October 25 and advanced to the 4A East II region final on October 29.

After two scares in their own defensive third, Broadneck made one last foray to avoid overtime. Ryan Ball stole the ball and quickly laid it off to Remson, who backheeled it to himself to create space, then took two touches and let fly from 25 yards. Remson watched the ball bounce twice, the Leonardtown keeper dive, and the net ripple behind him as the shot nestled just inside the left post.

Bedlam ensued as Remson was mobbed by his teammates – who quickly had to gather themselves and fend off one final Leonardtown attack deep into officials’ time before they could finally celebrate for real.

“I just got the ball, picked my head up, saw I had space to drive, and I knew we had to get the goal, so I took the shot. I was ecstatic – there’s nothing like beating a really good team,” Remson said. “It’s great to come back here and claim the win against them, doing it for the seniors of the team last year. Had to do it for them a little bit too.”

They did it in part for those departed seniors, who saw their high school careers end in Leonardtown a year ago, but the Bruins also did it for themselves. A signature win, and a full 80-minute performance, had eluded Broadneck all season — and it finally came in their biggest game yet.

Remson was the hero, but the entire team’s effort was nothing short of heroic. All 14 players who saw action defended doggedly when needed, and applied pressure when able.

Wingers Will Epley, Wilson Banwell and Ball ran tirelessly, along with holding midfielder Ascanio Satta, who had the thankless task of sitting deep and helping break up attacks before they turned into danger. Meanwhile, senior midfielder Jed Meehan and forward Braeden Kelly probed forward in search of the way through Leonardtown’s defense.

Midfielder Quinto Barrett and defender Wyatt Shaw, though limited in time, stole a precious few minutes for teammates to rest and provided extra energy.

It was not all backs-against-the-wall, but there were stretches where Broadneck rode luck and tenacious defending. Most notably, Remson and Erik Akhtar both cleared goal-bound balls off the line in the final 10 minutes to keep the game scoreless. Minutes later, Remson grabbed the game’s only goal.

Joe Brenner had five saves in keeping his third solo clean sheet of the season.

“It was an outstanding performance against a class, class team. (The Raiders) are very good,” said Broadneck coach Sean Tettemer. “Our players committed to the game plan, and they followed through and maintained it. Credit to their endurance and to their desire to get the result.”

The defensive trio of Mason Kaline, Eli DeWalle and Brady Miller absorbed wave after wave of Leonardtown attacks, teaming with dropping midfielders to repel the Raiders time and again. Miller in particular was frequently tested and matched each test, winning balls in the air, on the ground, and from opponents’ feet.

“Brady was the first to the ball tonight, Brady was winning headers, Brady was blocking shots, Brady was going to ground … he was outstanding tonight,” Tettemer said. “Can’t say enough about his desire and his work rate. He had his hands full with them tonight, and he absolutely rose to the challenge. Lots of blocked shots … just a great defensive team effort.”

After missing time due to a concussion suffered against Severna Park, and then being involved in a challenge against South River with the freaky outcome of a badly broken leg for his opposite number, Miller could have allowed his mindset to go into a tailspin. Instead, he turned in a man-of-the-match defensive masterpiece when the stakes were at their highest.

“Coming back from my concussion, and what happened in the South River game, it put me really low,” Miller said. “I just came out here and did my job, we did what we needed to do, and confidence is through the roof right now. It was this or nothing. We needed to get the win and get through.”

Though the sub rotation shortened drastically against Leonardtown, one of the brightest spots in the Bruins team has been the ability for contributions to come from anywhere.

Kelly remains the team’s leading scorer (11 goals) but has been joined in double figures by Meehan (10), while Banwell has seven goals and a team-high seven assists. In October, the Bruins got two-goal performances from Meehan (twice), Remson, Raef Barradell and Jaydyn Lowe.

In total, the Bruins have 54 goals from 13 players, plus two own-goals, and they have 38 assists from 14 players.

As they head into the region championship game, a rematch with Annapolis, the Bruins are budding with confidence at the right time of the season.

“A win like (Leonardtown) definitely gives the boys a lot of confidence,” Tettemer said. “This has been a really fun season, and I’m not ready for it to end, and they showed me they’re not ready for this to end either.”