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Upstart Brookfield defeats N. Falls

NEWTON FALLS — Field conditions were less than admirable for the Newton Falls-Brookfield soccer game Wednesday night.

Mud and water jumped off the field with every foot that planted into the ground.

“(It’s) soft,” Newton Falls coach Rick Giuliano said. “Considering how much rain we had, I think it (impacted the game) right off of the bat. My goalie doesn’t give up goals that easy.”

Despite the inability to gain ideal footing, Brookfield managed to secure a 4-1 victory.

“They (Brookfield) finished,” Giuliano said. “We got behind, and we didn’t attack.”

Perhaps the most impressive fact about Brookfield is this is the school’s first year playing soccer under the Ohio High School Athletic Association. The school never had a varsity soccer program.

“I really don’t know (how the program came about),” Brookfield coach James Haywood said. “It is officially an OHSAA recognized sport now. They wanted a boys and girls team, so here we are.”

Though Brookfield did operate under a recreational type league prior to this year, the team is still going through growing pains. The Warriors are building a team from the beginning, and adjusting to a higher level of competition with just more than the 11 allotted for playing.

“It’s been a learning experience for all of the guys,” Haywood said. “We have a lot of young kids, and a lot of freshman. We struggle with the number of kids. We just don’t have enough for subs.”

One player that looked as if he is breaking the learning curve for Brookfield was freshman Andrew Budnik. The young forward hammered in two goals to lead his team.

“He has four goals in the last two games,” Haywood said. “He is finally in a more natural position. He is a little more comfortable at forward. That second shot was just a tremendous shot. The first one, he just had really good placement on it. He is finally getting more confidence. Scoring the last game really helped him.”

On Wednesday, Brookfield not only controlled the elements, but they handled the Tigers.

“It feels good to finally get a win,” Haywood said.

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