This fall marks Head Soccer coach Jim DeRose’s 19th season with the team, and he has seen a lot of crazy things during that span.
But during this past week- end’s 2014 Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic, DeRose and the Braves endured a pair of hectic games, including an opening match that didn’t end until 12:27 a.m, the game-ending goal with less than 20 seconds to play, and two games that featured a total of three fouls in the penalty box resulting in three penalty kicks.
To put it simply, it was a long weekend for the Braves.
The Braves started the week- end Friday night with 3-2 double overtime victory over a physically stronger San Jose State team. In double overtime, junior defenseman Grant Bell headed in the game-winning goal in the 110 minute to seal the victory for the Braves.
Game time for the match against San Jose State was originally scheduled for 7 p.m., but poor weather in the opening match of the tournament delayed kickoff until 8 p.m.
“Nineteen years, I guess I can say one thing for the first time ever: we played a game over two days,” DeRose said. “We started [again] at 10, ended at 12:30. I was just telling my boss, we won’t play
too many teams better than that.” Junior goalkeeper Shay Niemeyer recorded four saves en route to his first win as the full-time starting net minder. “I thought the most important thing that he did was he made the big save when he needed to make the big save, he made the simple ones, and I heard him tonight and he was organizing things,” DeRose said of the Bradley goalie. “I was so happy that he got a result tonight, cause sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”
After limited rest, the Braves came back Sunday afternoon to face University of Nevada, Las Vegas; a team that beat the Braves last season 4-1 in Las Vegas.
The Braves put up a fight this time around, scoring two quick goals to go up 2-0 halfway through the first half of the game.
Andrew Brown tallied Bradley’s first goal in the seventh minute. Lofgren picked up a loose ball in the penalty box and passed it off to Brown, who went top-shelf for the score.
Christian Okeke nearly gave the Braves their second goal, but a chance rebound bounced to Jason Lesch, giving him his second goal of the season. UNLV stormed back to tie the game at two at halftime.
UNLV did not let up in the second half. Three minutes into the half, they scored to go up 3-2. Bell came up big for the second time in the weekend tournament, as he headed another ball in the
back of the net to knot the game up at three.
For the second straight year, the Rebels would have the final laugh, as UNLV’s Kyle Mellies knocked in the game-winner in the 78 min- ute to give them the 2014 Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic title.
The Braves hit the road for the first time in 2014 next weekend against San Diego and Cal State Northridge.
