Johnson sets record in GHS soccer win
Staff reports
Greenwich High School senior goalie Jimmy Johnson celebrated his soccer team’s senior night in record-setting fashion.
The Cardinals registered a decisive 6-0 win over Bridgeport Central Friday on Senior Night and Johnson became the program’s all-time leader in shutouts for a goalie. The shutout was the 25th clean sheet of Johnson’s Cardinals career.
“It tied it up at 24 the other night in our win against Wilton, so I’m excited to break the record tonight on Senior Night,” Johnson said. “I’m pretty happy about it, the previous record of 24 was set a while back.”
Johnson, who kept another foe off the scoreboard, also serves as one of the Cards’ captains.
“It’s been a challenge, we started off the season with some ties early on, but we’ve played well,” Johnson said. “The main theme this year was to motivate our younger players and get them to buy into the culture of the team.”
The Cardinals wasted little time in gaining the momentum in Friday’s matchup against Central. Senior Thomas Streiff tallied off a pass from Christopher Cruz for the game’s first goal in the third minute. That combination struck again in the 14th minute, making it 2-0.
In the 22nd minute, senior Dan Ubal Barrientos scored off a pass from senior Andrew Carlson. Fabian Suarez Becker, a senior, tallied in the 52nd minute, with senior Rodane Mackenzie getting the assist and senior Forest Gandler notched a goal in the 57th minute. Mackenzie sealed the scoring in the 63rd minute.
Indeed, it was a night for the seniors for Greenwich.
“Everyone got playing time, we were able to get all of our seniors in tonight, which was great,” GHS coach Kurt Putnam said. “We had a of players play the other night in our win against Wilton too. The seniors are the foundation of our program and it’s been nice to see them improve over the years.”
Greenwich plays Fairfield Warde, Norwalk and Danbury next week.
“We have a tough week ahead of us and we need to get some results for seeding in the playoffs,” Putnam said. “It should be a good test for our team.”
BRUNSWICK SOCCER
Brunswick notched a 5-0 win over visiting EF International Academy on Cosby Field on Friday night. Five different Bruins scored in the Homecoming win, as Brunswick (5-3-2) extended its winning streak to five games.
EF International took a good shot at getting on the board early on, as the visitors summoned a solid attack in the sixth minute of play. The Storm made a few passes from midfield to get to the Brunswick 18 and put a solid shot on goal. However, Brunswick’s goalie Eric Meindl (four saves) turned away the shot with a dive to his left, directing the ball outside the post.
Following the save, Brunswick’s offense came alive, scoring two quick goals.
In the 14th minute, Brunswick’s Ben Israel earned possession near midfield and took on two defenders. Israel found an opening in the EF International defense and converted a shot from 25 yards out to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead.
A minute later, Chinai played a corner kick to the front post that Aidan Williams headed home for a 2-0 advantage.
The Bruins made it a 3-0 game a few minutes into the second half, with Chinai scoring. PK Keller played a through ball from midfield down the right sideline to Nico Montoni. Montoni took on a defender and cut back to find Chinai who converted a one-timer.
Brunswick added two late goals, including a tally by Harry Barringer in the 80th minute. The netted the final goal five minutes later, with Christian Barnard finding Chisom Okpara for to cap the scoring.
GREENWICH HIGH GIRLS SOCCER
Greenwich controlled the action from start to finish in posting a 7-0 victory over visiting Bridgeport Central in an FCIAC game on Friday.
Yuri Nakamura tallied twice, as did Kelly Martyanov for the Cardinals, who earned their third win of the season.
Kristen Berzolla, Katie Feureman and Kristen Winn also scored for Greenwich. Katie Large and Estelle Jarrett combined for the shutout in goal.
“It was good to see a lot of our younger players contribute to the win,” GHS coach Simon Rumbold said.