Maconaquah Schools

The Braves advance to the Sectional Championship game after beating the Eastern Comets on Thursday night. The seniors shined on the offensive side of the field once again after the Comet defense initially held the Braves scoreless. Similar to the quarterfinal opponent, Eastern packed the defensive box, attempting to shut down the Braves’ offensive attack while not showing too much of a threat on the offensive end. Around the halfway point in the 1st half, Evan Zeiser collected a Luis Mendoza cross that passed through the box untouched. Evan was able to send the ball back to the front of the goal where the head of Joe Manueles awaited. Joe placed a header in the top left corner of the goal, notching the Braves’ first goal. The next two goals came in the form of penalty kicks as the Comets were called for back-to-back penalties in the box within a span of two minutes. Luis Mendoza split the goalkeeper with one goal to each side of the net. With no goals by either team in the second half, the game ended in a 3-0 Braves' victory. Coach Wilhelm said, “We possessed the ball well and attacked when the opportunities were there. Overall, happy to be headed to another sectional championship game.” Coach Sparks added, “The seniors are stepping up offensively right when they need to be, hopefully we take this scoring momentum into the championship game.” “MVPs of the Match” – Luis Mendoza and Darwin Aguiriano. Luis scored on two PKs and kept a high level of energy in the middle of field throughout the game. Darwin’s hustle has been improving all season long and his dribbling/passing decisions and execution set the team up for success. Oak Hill knocking off Northwestern (5-0) in the early semi-final game sets up a sectional championship game with the Braves facing the Eagles. The championship game will be played on Saturday at 7 pm at Northwestern. Come out and cheer on the Braves as they look to repeat as Sectional Champions!