Bishop Brady boys soccer takes Sanborn's best shot, hangs on for victory

CONCORD - The duo of Angelo Besho and Tom Daly and a stout defensive performance led the Bishop Brady High School boys soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Sanborn Thursday at Shaker Road School Athletic Complex.

Sanborn (4-3) had the possession advantage for most of the game and registered seven shots on goal but did not score until the 75th minute.

The Green Giants (4-2) held Sanborn to mid-to-long range shots and scored off two set pieces and a forced turnover before the Indians got on the board.

“We had huge, huge, long stretches of dominating the game,” Indians coach Al Magnusson said. “We tried going over the top. We tried going around the side. We tried going through the middle. We tried going small. We tried going big. We just couldn’t seem to make it happen.

“Sometimes the soccer gods are cruel.”

Bishop Brady coach Mike Ling credited a strong showing from sophomore goalkeeper Jack Bowes (six saves) and his back line.

“I thought he played a magnificent game,” Ling said of Bowes. “It was unlucky that he gave up one (goal) but he also kept out many more. ... My defensive backs, they have a really good chemistry led by Paul Cunningham and Adam Senko.”

The Indians opened the contest with an abundance of energy and held the ball for nearly the entire first 15 minutes. Bishop Brady’s offense was stagnant until receiving a jump start in the 27th minute, when Besho opened the game’s scoring with a header goal following a Daly corner kick.

Daly doubled the Green Giants’ advantage with his goal in the 37th minute. The junior stole the ball from a Sanborn defender just outside the Indians’ penalty box and scored on a low shot into the left corner of the net.

Bishop Brady led, 2-0, at halftime but the Indians nearly cut that advantage in half in the opening minute of the second half. Sanborn midfielder Wyatt Linville ripped a promising shot from inside the box but Bowes made a head’s-up kick save to preserve the Green Giants’ two-goal cushion.

Besho put the game away with his second goal, which came following a 25-yard free kick from Daly in the 62nd minute.

“When those two start connecting, I know that some decent things can happen, whether it’s a set piece or whether it’s on the field,” Ling said.

Linville scored Sanborn’s lone goal via a header off a Austin Kalinowski free kick with five minutes remaining.

The Green Giants finished with five shots on goal and three corner kicks. Sanborn logged four corner kicks in addition to its seven shots on goal.

Indians goalkeeper Zach Ramsdell made two saves.

“We were outmatched technically,” Ling said. “I felt like if we could press and create some chances and mistakes, I felt like my boys had enough tenacity and grit that they could maybe put one in the back of the net. I was grateful that we were able to put three.”