Martlets Put Up Final Fight

The Black and Gold finished their season with an entertaining home contest against Brunswick.  The Martlets erased a 2-0 first half deficit with two second half goals, only to give up a heartbreaking third goal that they could not equalize.  The early going saw good possession by the home side, but it was the Bears who had the first good scoring chance, blasting a shot in the fifth minute that required a diving save by Jake Crow '12.  The boys increasingly tried to get behind the Bear defense with long balls, but promising looks didn't produce many potent chances.  Brunswick struck in the 23rd minute, countering quickly after an errant pass.  Greg Jarvis '13 nearly equalized several minutes later when he took a quick blast on a ball that fell on his feet well outside of the box.  The dipping ball went through the keepers' fingers and slammed into the cross bar to produce an exciting near miss.  Just before the intermission the Bears doubled their lead when they alertly took a quick corner kick, getting the ball into the box before the defense could organize and knocking home a twice deflected ball.  The second half saw the ball moving up and down the field.  In the 61st minute Stan Sandoval '13 got the ball with space near midfield.  After several big dribbles he unleashed a thirty yarder that went in off of the side post.  Vincent Gisonti '13 evened the score in the 72nd minute when he gathered in a Sandoval cross that went through the goal mouth and calmly pushed in back across into the opposite side netting.  The Bears got the go-ahead goal in the 78th minute on a two-on-two counterattack; Crow made the initial save but the rebound could not be cleared in time.  Despite desperate efforts in the waning minutes, the 3-2 score stood.  Notable efforts were turned in today by Lorin Tobey '15, Sandro Giacometti '12, and Will Stevens '12 on defense and co-captains Sandoval and Jarvis in midfield.  The team demonstrated one last time the meaning of grit, fighting until the end with only their pride at stake.