vs. Northbrook

The boys came out ready to play on Wednesday night against Northbrook despite it being cold and wet! Our boys were making great passes and creating opportunities. Early in the first half,  Lorenzo Maule took a great shot on goal, but it was saved by the Northbrook keeper. Later in the first half, Northbrook struck first with a free kick to put them on the board. Our boys fought hard to equalize with pressure on the Northbrook defense for most of the half. With almost no time left in the first half, Stratford tied it up when Lorenzo drew a foul for a free kick in the Northbrook half. Oliver Burdick took the free kick, which took a bounce in front of the Northbrook keeper and slid past him into the net.

SHS 1 - NBHS 1

The 2nd half started with Northbrook turning up the intensity and drawing a free kick, which went through the wall, but our keeper Yovanney Rodriguez was able to punch it out. Stratford continued attacking with a few quality opportunities throughout the half. One of their best chances came from a ball played by Oliver Burdick to Theo Birgirimana, who missed with a shot just over the crossbar. With 16 minutes left on the clock, Northbrook took the lead and didn't look back. With possibly a few more minutes' time in the game, our boys could have equalized with a few more opportunities,  and will look to work on capitalizing on these for their next home game.

vs. Spring Woods

Our Stratford boys were excited to play in the ideal soccer conditions present on Saturday, considering what they faced earlier in the week weather-wise. Their excitement though was quickly replaced with a 3-0 deficit within the first 15 mins of the game. Stratford did settle in and start to move the ball against a well-organized Spring Woods team, but were unable to gain much ground before the mid-point in the game. Stratford's only goal came off a set-piece free-kick from the left side taken by Lorenzo Maule. He struck a beautiful chip just over the keeper's reach finding the netting.

To start the 2nd half, Coach Huntsman must have given the boys a motivating speech because the renewed intensity shown on the pitch was evident. For what seemed like an extensive time, Stratford moved the ball well on their side of the field but were unable to penetrate Spring Woods' defense with any serious threats. If the boys can take positives from the game and build on their chemistry with one another, they should be better off against their upcoming opponents, as this Spring Woods team looked like they had played together for some time.

Come out to support the boys Tuesday at Cy Ridge and Friday night at Tully against Memorial.