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Panthers adjust and hand Broncos first loss, 2-0

By Tom King - Staff Writer | Oct 6, 2020

Telegraph photo by TOM KING Nashua South's Neil Kachappilly heads the ball while covered by Alvirne's Evan Beals during the Panthers' 2-0 win Monday in Nashua.

NASHUA – The ball didn’t have the same bounce. The speed of the game wasn’t the same.

But good teams make due, and that’s what the Nashua High School boys soccer team did win a 2-0 win on Monday, knocking the Alvirne Broncos from the ranks of the unbeatens.

The game was played at South’s grass field, and it was an adjustment for the 4-1 Panthers, who are used to the Stellos Stadium turf.

“It was a little different,” South coach Tom Bellen said. “We do train on here so it’s not much of an excuse. But it does change how we play and what happens with the pace of the ball. But overall we figured it out in that second half.”

They did, although Broncos keeper Mason Brooks was stellar, stopping the Purple second half onslaught until South got two goals in the final 10 minutes.

First, South’s Many Orsozco Alvarez headed – almost bodied the ball – past Brooks off a feed upfield from Nick Esp, right about the 70 minute mark.

About two minutes later Jadiel Bomfim converted an Ethan Emata pass to make it 2-0.

The Broncos (3-1) got great defensive play led by Evan Beals and Ryan Johnson, but they aren’t as deep as the Panthers and eventually fatigue had to set in.

“For sure,” Alvirne coach Marcos Vieira Filho said. “We don’t have as big as squad as them, so it’s tough at the end of games trying to get a rotation and get guys subbed out. They have a good team, they have a lot of talent, they defnitely won that second half, and they deserved that second half, so props to them.”

“It was a little sloppy on our part, a little slow at the beginning,” Bellen said. “Second half they started picking it up. Some through balls at the end there got us on the board. That’s what we’ve been working on.”

Leo Kopicko had five saves, four in the first half. While the Broncos didn’t get down to his end often, they made something happen more often than not.

“We didn’t give up anything dangerous in that second half,” Bellen said. “Last year we had a hard time pitching shutouts. This year we have more (three) than we had all last year.

“(Kopico) is a lot better this year, a lot more sure of what he’s doing back there. The kids trust him, we can gamble a little bit knowing he’s going to make a good save for us.”

Still, the Broncos have played well so far, suffering defeat for the first time.

“For sure, it’s been a great start to the year,” Vieira Filho said. “I told the guys basically every single game has been another challenge, a tougher challenge every time. So we like dealing with adversity, we know it’s going to make us tougher. At the end of the day, it’s all about open playoffs, so that’s what we’re focused on.”

Bellen has said the same thing, and he’s looking for his team to play faster in the rematch on Friday in Hudson, still on grass.

“This will wake us up again,” Bellen said. “But that’s a game (Alvirne) team. They work hard, they’re not giving up, they’re on every play. They’ve played well so far this year, so these are all good tests for us.”

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