Boys Soccer: Chopticon 2, Northern 1

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By Andy States
Content Manager, SMAC

Historically speaking, Chopticon High's boys soccer team has been known for its slow starts.

The Braves often do not hit their stride until late in the regular season before making a push in the playoffs. There was nothing slow about their start in their regular-season finale on Tuesday night at Northern.

Chopticon created pressure right from the start, and Jo Bucior converted on two opportunities roughly seven minutes apart in the mid-stages of the first half to give the Braves they never would relent, as the visiting Braves spoiled the SMAC-champion Patriots' Senior Night 2-1.

With the win, Chopticon (7-6-1, 6-5-1) finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time anyone with the team could recall. The win also snapped a seven-game winning streak for Northern (11-3, 10-2), which had not tasted defeat since Sept. 20 in the finals of the Patriot Classic tournament.

"We've been trying to beat [Northern] since I've been here," said Chopticon coach Butch Sullivan, in his fourth year at the Braves' helm. "It's just a great win. They're SMAC champs and it's our first season where we've had a winning record at the end of the regular season."

Bucior's early tallies, the first of which was set up on a brilliant cross by Cody Jarboe, were enough to stand up on a night when Chopticon's defense stood strong against Northern's attack. The Patriots' Andrew Turgeon was able to slip one into the net in the late stages of the opening half, but the Braves, led by sweeper Alec Pence, turned aside several furious Northern onslaughts throughout the second half to preserve the win.

"They were awesome," Sullivan said of his defensive corps. "Alec Pence, I'm telling you, he's the best in the league.

"He just anchors the defense and makes up for anything anybody else misses."

"They were playing four or five guys up top," Pence said of Northern's effort. "They were trying to put it in the net, but everybody played strong."

Northern has enjoyed plenty of success against Chopticon in the past, and has even ended the Braves' season in the regional playoffs the past couple of years. But the Braves' effort on Tuesday caught the Patriots off guard.

"I had no idea what Chopticon had, but they're a good team," Northern coach John Rossi said. "They play physical and have [Bucior and Jarboe] up top that really put some things together. They're a great team. We might have to fave them in a couple games again."

Northern is seeded second in the 3A South Region, and will open the postseason against the winner of a Friendly/Largo first-round matchup. Waiting in the regional semifinals could be Chopticon, the region's No. 6 seed, which plays third-seeded Huntingtown in the quarterfinals. Following each of the other two losses Northern suffered this season, it followed with a winning streak, including the aforementioned seven-game string leading into the finale against Chopticon.

"Last time we lost was Huntingtown," Rossi said. "Hopefully we bounce back the same way we did then."

A win over the SMAC champs under their collective belt, the Braves enter the postseason with steam, which is not altogether unfamiliar ground. While Chopticon has typically been a slow starter, it usually plays its best when the regional playoffs begin.

"Unlike other schools where they have a lot of kids trying out, most of our kids know they're going to make the team," Sullivan said. "The incentive's not there to be ready and in shape when they come in, so it takes us half the season to get in shape and get to know each other."

Chopticon 2, Northern 1
C    2    0
N    1    0
Goals
Chopticon: Bucior 2
Northern: Turgeon