Lake Braddock Wins Northern Region Soccer Title

The Lake Braddock Bruins proved to be a team of destiny, following up Wednesday’s miraculous overtime win against Washington-Lee with an equally impressive comeback win against the Langley Saxons Friday night.   After seceding a goal early in the second half, Elhadji Diouf tied it less than a minute later.  Matt Fraedrich got his second-consecutive game winning goal with a fabulous lob over the keeper late in the half held on to ensure the victory.  Having rose from obscurity, the Bruins will now host the opening round of the state tournament.

“It is a great feeling,” captain Christian Kosko said afterwards.  “We were never ranked this year, and to beat three number one seeds to win the title. It’s just awesome.”

Lake Braddock looked to be the more poised team from the opening kickoff, working the ball on the ground through the midfield while the Saxons settled for long clearances and ambitious thru balls.  Fraedrich also let it be known early that he was a forced to be reckoned with, beating two defenders on a 40-yard dash before pushing the shot just wide.

Defensively, the Bruins were cohesive, persistent, and physical, as they shut down a terrific Langley attack.   Tyler Dunn did a superb job on All-region striker Josh Ellis, while Tyler Durbin swept to perfection, dominating on balls in the air.  Fraedrich nearly struck late in the half, but his bending shot hit the far post, and the teams went into the halftime break 0-0.

The Saxons regrouped and took charge early in the second half.  Just seconds after toe poking one past the keeper and off the post, Langley captain Dylan Price headed home the game’s first goal on the ensuing corner kick.  Diouf responded forty-seconds later with a header of his own.  Although Saxon keeper Jay Lupas stopped the initial shot, Diouf was right there to put in the rebound. 

Following the equalizer, the Bruins took complete control of the game, constantly pressuring the Saxon defense.  The biggest reason for this was the dominant play of their center midfield tandem of Diouf and Kosko.

“Uzi (Diouf) is especially aggressive on defense winning air balls and getting it back for us, and I do more of the controlling and passing,” Kosko explained.  “He is a great player to play with, and we worked together really well tonight.”

Fraedrich had a great opportunity to give his team the lead after taking the ball off two Saxon defenders, but he pushed the one-on-one shot just wide.  Persistently making runs to leave his mark on the match, the Northern Illinois bound senior would be reward with a great ball moments later.

“Tyler (Durbin) is great at putting those balls over the top,” Fraedrich applauded.  “With the keeper coming out I wanted to put it over him.  I thought I put it over the goal, but when it dropped in the net it was the best feeling.”

The Bruin defense held strong, despite a pair of scares off the woodwork, and keeper Patrick Clark snatched the final threat out of the air to clinch the regional championship.

 “We set our minds to the task of winning the region,” head coach Joe Soos said.  “It is a very tough challenge, and to accomplish it reflects our will, character, and our pride.”