Ok, where to start with this one?? Patrick!! What a great game he played today. He was so dangerous on the outside, with his cutting moves and nice crosses. 4 assists in the first 17 minutes! I'm hoping he can continue to play like this for the balance of the season.
The team as a whole came out hard and strong. They attempted to execute a pretty interesting play right off the opening kick. Zach took the ball back to Greg while Bruno sprinted to the goal. Greg held it momentarily and lofted a long arching ball over the top. It was close to connecting, but the defender just took it away from Bruno at the last second. St. George started back the other way and the teams played a little volley for the first 2 minutes. The ball finally ending up on Patrick's foot out on the right at the center line. He drove all the way down to the 18 yard line and cut in to the net hard. His initial shot was turned aside by the keeper. Fortunately, unfortunately for him, he turned the ball off to his left and it went straight to Zach for an wide open, thank you very much Mr. Keeper, goal. 1-0 Brooks just about 2:45 into the game.
No less than 2 minutes later, pressure again from Brooks and Zach finds the top right corner. 2-0 Brooks five minutes in. Brooks controlling every aspect of the game at this point. The ball is flying all around the St. George net. About 3 minutes later, Zach gets sent in with a nice lead pass. Just a bit ahead of him. Keeper comes out hard to the ball, Zach running hard to it as well. He beats the keeper to the ball and chips it over him while stepping around him to avoid the collision. I'm jumping up thinking HAT TRICK!!! Then a defender comes out of no where and clears the ball just before it goes in. WOW!! After that flurry you think things might settle down. But no, here comes Zach again, collecting another pass and firing one into the net. Hats flying out of the stands. The kids are going nuts on the sidelines. I see the linesman's flag up indicating offside. Oh well. Still 2-0 Brooks. That's all that matters.
The barrage of shots and pressure continues and at 14 minutes Sam fires a shot from about 30 yards out (off a pass from Patrick) and it goes right through the keeper's hands. 3-0 Brooks. Letup? I think the boys were a bit upset about Saturday and were making a statement. Jory took a corner, Patrick got a foot on it and it went to Greg who buried it. 4-0 Brooks, 17 minutes in. Amazing! At 17 minutes, you knew the game was over. Now the only question was going to be how long would the starters stay in? 8 minutes later, Zach gets his third of the game. He's pumped as he finally has his 1st hat trick. Been close a couple of times every year but he finally did it!! Hats fly from the stands again. Kids all cheering wildly. A really nice moment for Zach!
So, 5-0 at the 25 minute mark. Play continued, all controlled by Brooks. Zach was pulled just after 35 minutes. Greg scored his second at 41 minutes. The half ended 6-0.
The second half had most of the substitutes starting. Zach, Greg, and Sam were in warmups on the sideline. It was obvious Dusty had instructed the team not to score any more goals. The play would build up and come up to the 18 yard box and the team would turn back and play the ball back to the defenders. Keep away! That was going to be a very demoralizing balance of the game. To their credit, St. George played hard, but not cheap. Not one dirty or cheap play was made by them. They gave it their best effort, but the afternoon belonged to Brooks. At the 70 minute mark, who is standing on the sideline waiting to come back in? Yup, Zach.
He convinced Dusty to let him play defense for a bit. Not sure how or why, but he did. Played back there for 10 minutes or so and then Dusty pulled him again. No sense risking an injury there for sure.
The final whistle blew. The St. George team did their customary jog across the field. The parents all gave them a good cheer for their sportsmanship and the way they finished the game. They lost but lost with dignity and they deserve credit for that. The Books boys gathered themselves and began to focus on a big game with Belmont Hill on Saturday. BH is only 1 point behind Brooks and has not lost yet this year. Hopefully on Saturday they will taste defeat and give Brooks a bit of breathing room.
