SAN JOSE - Bellarmine soccer continued its streak towards a WCAL regular season crown by remaining undefeated in league play with a 4-2 win over visiting Serra Wednesday.
Senior forward JB Bruggeman started off the scoring in the 18th minute for the Bells. Bruggeman used some trickery to run around a defender before taking a pass from Marte Formico, and then found himself one on one with Serra keeper Sean Fang, allowing for an easy shot into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.
“The ball got played into me and I realized the defender was sitting off of me, so I thought I would draw him in so I took a slow approach to the ball,” said Bruggeman. “Then as he came in, I let the ball go through my legs, and I accelerated off the ball.
“After that, I saw the goalie in the goal, and he wasn’t coming out to pressure me, so it was an easy tuck away and finish.”
The Bells, who moved at a quick pace from the opening whistle, certainly did not let up with the 1-0 lead, and pushed for another goal as the half wore on. Nick DeQuiroz had a penalty kick saved by Fang in the 29th minute, and then Bruggeman had another breakaway-like scoring attempt a minute later, but Fang kept that one out of the net as well.
Third time was the charm, as Bruggeman assisted Nick Lion for another goal in the 30th minute, extending the BCP lead to 2-0. Lion used skillful ball handling to work around a defender in the box before sending the ball into the back of the net with his less-dominant right foot.
“The key was executing,” said Lion of the first half performance, which was ultimately the difference in the game. “We put a lot of work in going into this game, and the things we did in this game were things we went over in practice.”
Serra and Bellarmine both notched two goals in a slower paced second half, starting with Michael Neher’s unassisted score in the 54th minute to cut the lead to one. Neher navigated through multiple BCP defenders before sending a shot past keeper Dominic Peters, but unfortunately for Neher the chance to tie did not last long.
Bruggeman quickly replied in the 57th minute, returning the two-goal lead to the Bells. Multiple Bells took shots, all of which were blocked, until the ball rolled in the direction of DeQuiroz, who threw his whole leg at the ball only to barely skim it and send the ball to Bruggeman, who then tapped the ball past Fang and into the net.
Jarod Matteoni put BCP up 4-1 in the 70th minute following a corner kick from Lion, and was assisted by Lion and Cory Hammett on the play. Willie Rivera scored the final goal of the evening in the 75th minute, leading to the eventual final of 4-2.
Now at 2-10-2 (2-6-0), Serra is out of reach for a WCAL title but is still trying to make the most out of the rest of the season.
“We decided to mix it up (in the second half). We played some guys that don’t get to play a whole lot, and they brought a little added energy to it,” said coach Jeff Panos. “We don’t have anything to lose at this point in the season with where we’re at in the standings, and the idea is to have some fun and see if we can make something happen.”
As for the No. 3 team in the Prep2Prep CCS rankings, Bellarmine (9-2-3, 6-0-2) continues to shine and will likely still be playing during section playoffs in early March.
“We had a meeting on Monday to talk about where we’re at and just analyzing ourselves and what we’ve improved on,” said Johnson. “And, we’ve improved on a ton, but we still have a long way to go if we want to fulfill our goals.”
For a team that has not lost in since Dec. 30, it appears as if a section title is a possibility for the Bells right now.
Bellarmine takes on Riordan up in San Francisco on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., while Serra returns home to take on Valley Christian at 11 a.m.
