Posted: Oct 25, 2021
Sewell, NJ - Brookdale men's soccer, the #5 seed in the Region XIX semi-finals, hit the road and returned with a big 2-1 win against the #4 seed, RCSJ-Gloucester. The Blues were looking to redeem themselves after taking a tough loss to the Roadrunners earlier in the season, losing 1-0 in the last few seconds of the game.
The game began a bit unnerving for Brookdale as the Roadrunners pressured the Blues early. There were a couple of very limited chances to score for both teams in the first half, as they ended it with a 0-0 score.
At the start of the 2nd half, the Jersey Blues took control and created opportunities. The defense found sophomore midfielder, Gabriel Vieira, who beat two defenders with a bit of skill and flare, finding his favorite target, freshman forward, Liam Stewart. Stewart made a great run, gathered the first touch in stride to only strike and beat the keeper in his near post, giving the Blues a 1-0 lead.
The Blues almost went up 2-0 shortly thereafter when Liam Stewart hit a dipping volley as the RCSJ-Glouchester keeper made a fantastic crossbar-smacking save. A few moments later, the Roadrunners capitalized as a Blues defender lost his footing while a Gloucester attacker put a header in the back of the net to tie the game.
Four minutes later, freshman forward, Ryan Gannon, received a ball near the corner flag in the Roadrunners end of the field. Gannon was able to wiggle his way around a couple of defenders in a tight area. As he came out of the scrum, he found, Liam Stewart, who tucked the ball into the corner for his second goal and game winner for the Jersey Blues.
The #5 seeded Brookdale Jersey Blues will travel to play in the Region 19 Championship against the #1 seeded Camden Cougars on Saturday, October 30th, 12;00pm, @ the Rutgers-Camden Soccer Field.
Photo above courtesy of Brandon Johnson