With the chance to defend its title as District 9 Class 3A Champions on the line, Bradford boys soccer team has one last obstacle to hurdle: DuBois.
The Owls have plenty of playoff experience, having competed in the 3A playoffs every year since at least 2009. With a 2-0 victory a season prior against Clearfield, they were able to claim the title of Champion in last season’s postseason finale.
“Coming into this season we knew that we were going to have a young back line. We graduated a lot of our defensive midfield and back line. That was the focus early in the season,” said Bradford head coach Wes Lohrman. “We knew coming forward we would have a pretty potent offense.”
As usual, the Owls and the Beavers met twice this season and split the matchups.
The first game was the season opener for the Owls, being played on the road on Aug. 31. DuBois found offensive success early, scoring two goals in the first 30 minutes, and then secured the win with iron-clad defense, holding off Bradford’s repeated attacks. The Owls had a chance to get on the scoreboard in the second half with a penalty kick but failed to find the back of the net, leaving them scoreless in a 2-0 loss.
Just over a month later, on Oct. 1, the two teams met again in what would be a battle of attrition. Both teams went back-and-forth, battling around mid-field without scoring for most of the game until a 62nd-minute penalty kick from Colin Conneely sealed the 1-0 victory at Parkway Field.
“We know (both teams) have the potential to win this game,” said Lohrman. “At the end of the day, I expect it to be a good game.”
This season, Bradford ended with a 8-9 record, including finishing 4-2 in the District 9 conference, earning the second seed for the postseason. Last year, the Owls earned a bye-week as the number one seed, but this year will have to fight for their spot in the championship match.
Jake Franz, who had a seven-goal game and multiple hat tricks, held the brunt of the offensive force this season and led the Owls in scoring.
“Franz is a variable that is tough for other teams to defend. He’s had a handful of multiple-goal games. He’s been the fastest player in Bradford history to reach a hat trick in a game, it was in the first five minutes,” said Lohrman. “But with that, we have other pieces around him that, should he get an extra amount of attention, we have players that will step up and fill that void.”
The playoff match between Bradford and DuBois will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday with the win-or-go-home chance to make it to the finals. If they make it to the championship round for a second year in a row, the Owls will face a rematch with No. 1 Clearfield for a chance to defend their District 9 3A Championship title.
“We look forward to any game at this point because any game we get we’re still going forward. Whoever that opponent ends up being, we’re going to be prepared and equally ready to play,” said Lohrman. “Clearfield is a common opponent (in the postseason). We faced them the last four years, I believe. I know they do a good job of getting a team ready for this time in the season.
“Should that be us that’s getting ready to face them on Tuesday, we know we’ll have a big task infront of us but it’s something we feel we are adequately prepared for.”
