Soccer Tops King in Season Opener

Brunswick soccer started the 2023 season with a 1-0 win against visiting King School on Carroll Field on Tuesday afternoon.

From the opening whistle, the Bruins set the tone to control the midfield and play solid defense, which led to numerous opportunities to get on the board.  Seniors Luke James and Kieran Raker, and juniors Will Higgs & John Buttafuoco all created quality chances on goal in the first half, either just missing the frame or being turned away by King's goalkeeper.

The quality of play from the first half carried into the second, as ’Wick continued to defend confidently, possess well in the midfield, and generate solid chances on goal. Junior attacker Agustin Grether came off the bench and gave the offense an extra spark, orchestrating several runs toward goal that produced corner kicks.

In the 68th minute, King was forced to play a man down on account of a red card, and this extra pressure on King's defense finally paid off in the 78th minute: Junior midfielder Theo Perkins collected a clearance near midfield and played a through ball to Raker, who took two big touches past a King defender and ultimately buried a shot behind the King goalkeeper for the only tally of the match.

Senior goalkeeper Phil Stabinsky earned the shutout. While he was composed in his distribution and collected a number of through balls throughout the match, his biggest test came in the 90th minute, when he was tasked to punch away a dangerous corner kick in a crowd of attacking players during King's final effort to find an equalizer.

Stabinsky's relatively light afternoon was on account of solid play from Brunswick’s back-four, which played the entire 90 minutes. Centerbacks Johnny Saunders ’24 and co-captain Ollie Leonard ’25 played very well, with regular support from defensive backs Sebi Medina ’25 and Ray Foley ’27 (in his varsity debut).

The coaching staff also noted the play of senior captain Tyler Quake, who played hugely impactful minutes in the defensive midfield.

The season continues on Wednesday (weather dependent) with a 3:45 kickoff at Choate.