O'Brien Goal Gets Wellesley Win Over Needham

A frustrating first half seems like a distant memory now for Wellesley forward Kevin O'Brien.

The Raiders senior had numerous scoring opportunities throughout the game but with seven minutes left in a scoreless tie, O'Brien came through in a big way.

Teammate Gray Lewis made a terrific play to shake a pair of defenders down low and managed to feed O'Brien in the center of the box. O'Brien slipped a bit on the play, but maintained enough control to get a shot off with his left foot that found the back of the net. O'Brien's goal held up, and Wellesley survived to take a 1-0 decision over Needham at Sprague Field Tuesday afternoon.

"Gray is the one who's been scoring goals for us all year and I've been trying to catch him. He did all the work on that one," O'Brien said. "He brought it into the corner and then got a perfect pass to me. I had the ball on my right foot but didn't have a clear foot so I brought it across my body and my right foot blew out a bit so I just swung at it with my left and fortunately I hit it hard enough so the goalie couldn't get anything on it"

The goal marked a big breakthrough in the game for O'Brien, who consistently found himself with good chances but just couldn't find his mark, including a missile that slammed off the far post on a blast from 20 yards out.

When opportunity presented itself again, however, O'Brien delivered when his team needed it most.

"Seven minutes to go and Kevin came through and scored for us," praised Wellesley coach Colm Hamill. "If I can rely on anyone I know I can rely on Kevin O'Brien. When we need somebody to step up to the mark, Kevin is that kind of guy for us."

O'Brien's heroics overshadowed an otherwise brilliant defensive game by both teams, including clutch performances by both goalkeepers.

Needham keeper Jake Bronstein was nothing short of exceptional, coming through with seven saves behind a defense that was trying to mix in new players because the Rockets have been battered by injuries in the early part of the season.

"He's a junior goalie and he always plays very well. Jake was very steady today. I'm very pleased with how he played," said Needham coach Don Brock. "The defense was terrific and it was the first time we played that particular combination of players because one of our captains has a bad ankle. The kids did a nice job and filled in some spots that some of them hadn't played before."

Brock singled out the play of senior Alex Mayo, who shadowed scoring threat Lewis well enough that the Raiders had to move him around the field to get some open looks.

At the other end, Wellesley goalie Andrew Suttle matched Bronstein's excellence when Needham began applying extensive pressure in hopes of tying the game late. In the final minute, defender Chandler Hartnett made a nice play to block a hard shot by Needham's Stephen Bannon, but Mac Steeves intercepted the clearing attempt and got off a great shot that Suttle was able to cover.

"Needham is a quality team and they really gave us a game and kept us under pressure," admitted Hamill. "To be completely honest, my team won today but a fair result would have been a draw. I got my 'get out of jail free' card today and hopefully I don't have to use too many of those this year."

With a quality performance against a top team like Wellesley, Brock knows his team can take a lot of positives out of this game.

"We are definitely going to build on this game," the longtime coach said with a smile. "This club isn't through yet. Far from it."