By Ravi Koyen

The Bradley Beach boys soccer team has made a comeback! This season was special because it was one of our best seasons. We secured fifth place, and, at one point, we were in second place for a few weeks. For the past two years, the team had not won any games, but this year we won four! We finished the year with a 4 and 4 record.

At halftime, the first game of the season against Lavallette, the boys were tied 1-1. They went on to score five straight goals, winning 6-1. The next game was against Neptune City. It was a really close game, the boys winning 3-2, going into overtime. The team celebrated so energetically on the bus ride back.

The team consisted of five sixth graders, four seventh graders, and five eighth graders. The coach is Mr. Pulcine, who is also the new PE teacher. What the coach would always say at the games and practices, and when our team was in doubt, was, “Let’s do what we do best and be aggressive!” 

The game moment with the most suspense was definitely when we were tied with Neptune City with a little less than five minutes on the clock. Jared Walker, a sixth grader, scored the winning goal, giving Bradley a 3-2 victory on September 26. Jared also scored multiple hat tricks against Avon and Sea Girt. Another standout player is Brandon Victoria-Angel, who scored a goal against H.W. Mountz off a free kick and scored two headers against Bay Head. 

The team’s hardest game was probably against Sea Girt, as they had a lot of skilled players. However, we had a very good comeback, scoring three goals in the second half. Unfortunately, we still lost 6-3.

The team will lose some key players to high school next year, but there are many who will be back. Along with Jared are Keno Stewart, Alex Rojas-Quiroz, Gael Reyes Ruiz, and me (Ravi Koyen), all seventh-grade starters who will take on a leadership role next year, Mr. P said. The sixth graders who started are Dylan Ruiz Garcia, Zareth Montoya Merino, Jeremy Rodriguez Toruno, and Joshua Roa Mancilla, who now have more experience for next year. So, even with saying goodbye to five eighth graders who all played prominent roles, next year’s Breakers are heading in the right direction for another successful season.