BPC Soccer Underway
Courtesy of BPC
Brewton-Parker College's Men’s Soccer opened its 2023 campaign with a tight battle on home soil against Freed-Hardeman, and then were on the road at SCAD. vs. Freed-Hardeman
The Barons (1-0) were challenged early as the Lions (0-1) struck swiftly but managed to overcome adversity with a leveling goal moments later while following with a second half score to secure victory.
“The boys were excellent tonight, after going down to 10 men so early on they played with decisiveness and composure,” Head Coach Bob Neumann said. “They demand a huge standard of themselves even in difficult situations. Genuinely relentless for 90 minutes.”
Freed-Hardeman broke the game open early with a goal at the 4:44 mark, taking advantage of a well-placed cross into the 18-yard box for the swift 1-0 advantage.
The Barons responded well with a goal of their own as George Collins set up Jordan de Souza Barclay on a through-ball for the leveling score in the eighth minute.
Unfortunately for BPC, the Barons were left with a man down as Andrea Abwe was sent off for a handball outside of the box. Jake Mc-Carthy came on for Danny Guerra to fill in for the empty net. McCarthy made an immediate impact with a total of three saves on the Lions as they held a narrow 6-4 advantage in shots in the first half.
BPC managed to produce some offensive opportunities but were held to just one shot on frame, coming from Manny Marin’s saved header in the 31st minute.
Fr e e d – Ha rdeman opened the second half with a 4-2 shot advantage over the course of the first 23 minutes until Brewton-Parker utilized a counterattack from the duo of Landon Brafford and Derventz Altidor to slot home the go-ahead goal from Altidor at the 68:07 mark.
BPC managed to battle and hold onto the one-goal edge over FHU despite giving up a total of 11 shots in the second half. Victor Garces came in clutch late in the 85th minute, notching a defensive save on a shot from the Lions to keep the win alive.
The game eventually returned to level players as a red card from the visitors equalized at 10 men a side in the 86th minute before BPC secured the season-opening win.
Freed-Hardeman controlled a 17-7 shot advantage while also leading 8-3 in shots on goal. Both de Souza Barclay and Altidor slotted home a goal each while Collins and Brafford bagged assists. After replacing Abwe, McCarthy came in to produce a clean sheet performance for nearly 77 minutes and totaled six saves in the process. Thursday night’s win marks the first seasonopening victory for the Barons since the 2020 campaign. vs. SCAD
Brewton-Parker Men’s Soccer traveled east to challenge in-state foe SCAD-Savannah (Ga.) on Saturday night for the first road contest of the 2023 campaign.
The Barons (1-1) slipped away from the Bees (1-0-1) in the first half and could not recover the gap, falling in a 2-0 loss in Hardeeville, S.C. “It’s a disappointing one,” Head Coach Bob Neumann stated. “We weren’t brave enough in the first half and gave SCAD too many opportunities in front of goal. It’s a young group and they will certainly learn from this experience.”
“We have a big test coming Thursday with Truett, and an opportunity to respond,” Neumann added.
Brewton-Parker opened the game with the first shot coming off the foot of André Xavier at the 3:16 mark. SCAD returned with four shots over the next ten minutes before the Barons could muster a response in the 14th minute with Manny Marin’s shot finding the hands of Connor Friel in the net.
After five total shots from the Bees and three saves Jake McCarthy, SCAD eventually broke the scoreless draw in the 33rd minute with a goal from Ryan Holmes. The Bees added to the tally at the 40:47 mark with another shot from Holmes finding the back of net for a two-goal edge.
The Barons were outmatched in the first half 11-2 in overall shots and 6-1 in shots on goal.
The second half proved to be more level between the two sides as the final 45 minutes resulted in scoreless efforts. BPC held a 6-5 shot advantage over SCAD and held a 3-2 shot on frame edge.
Both George Collins and Xavier had opportunities saved from Friel early in the half while a late-game attempt from Rayane Sid Ahmed was thwarted as well.
SCAD-Savannah led 16-8 in total shots and 8-4 in shots on goal. McCarthy bagged six saves on the night, edging out Friel by two. Collins and Xavier led the way with two shots each and a shot on goal as well. As a team, BPC led 3-2 in corners.
The Barons will head to Cleveland, Ga. on Thursday to take on Truett McConnell (Ga.) for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
