Boys soccer: Branson captures NorCal crown in shootout
With a shot at history in the balance, the boys in Branson School blue knew they couldn’t ask for anyone better in the net than Niccolo Machotka-Farley.
Farley dove to stop the last shot he faced in a shootout to keep the Bulls’ title hopes alive in Saturday’s Northern California Division V boys soccer championship game against Crystal Springs Uplands at College of Marin.
Branson sophomore Sebastian Le Duc drilled the game-winner to start the celebration as the Bulls won 5-4 in the shootout against Crystal Springs Uplands after the NorCal title match was tied 1-1 at the end of regulation.
“Niccolo is one of the greatest goalies I’ve ever met,” said Cooper Little, who gave the Bulls a 1-0 lead in regulation. “I knew with him in there, I knew we were going to win.”
The Bulls (13-6-3), the top seed in the north, are scheduled to face Garfield (16-6-3), the third seed from Southern California, as they go for another title in the inaugural State championships in the D-V title game at 10 a.m. on March 14 at Natomas High.
“The idea of going to Sacramento for a State title, yeah, it’s a big game,” Le Duc said.
Branson celebrated its first North Coast Section title in 15 years just a week earlier, and kept the team’s historic run going with Saturday’s NorCal crown.
“It’s a first for us to be going to State and it’s a wonderful feeling,” Branson head coach Tom Ryan said. “We’re looking forward to representing not only our league, the MCAL, but also now as section champions and as Northern California champions.”
Crystal Springs (20-3-2) scored on its opening attempt in the shootout, but Bulls senior Drew Holden drove the ball just past the reach of goalie Max Slavet as he dove to his right. The Gryphons’ Daniel Laws converted the next kick up and to the left of Farley, but the Bulls evened the count went Ethan Winter went upper right with his shot. The teams continued to trade successful spot kicks, with Kai Sarker finding the mark for the Bulls.
Farley stopped the next shot he faced and the tally remained 3-3 after four shooters. The Gryphons’ Lucas Shotts scored his penalty just over a diving Farley, but Lucas Shin aimed dead center to keep the shootout going. Farley dove to his left to stop a shot by Ben Fair, giving the Bulls a chance to wrap up the title.
“They did a good job of disguising where they were going with their shots,” Machotka-Farley said. “On the two that I saved, I was just trusting my ability, knowing that I might guess right.”
Le Duc didn’t hesitate as he lined up his shot, which blasted past Slavet into the back of the net. Le Duc immediately called for his Branson teammates to join him in the corner of the field for the celebration.
“I had my spot picked out well before I went up there, and then I looked in the goalie’s eyes and I knew I was going to score in that moment,” Le Duc said.
Branson had its chances during the first half, but couldn’t capitalize until Little pounced on an errant play deep in the Gryphons’ zone in the 31st minute and set up his shot in the middle of the box, sending it to the right as Slavet dove to his left.
The Gryphons’ offense was relatively quiet in the first half against a staunch defense from Mateo Tremmel, Jaya Breene and Will Swift, but Crystal Springs turned up the heat in the second half and tied the game with 11 minutes left in regulation on a set play straight out of Branson’s book. The Gryphons crowded the box on a throw-in and got the redirect between Farley and the near post.
“They tied it up, then they had a lot of momentum,” Ryan said. “And I told the boys, we can get to overtime, and we did. And in OT, the same thing, we saw what they were doing and we said we just have to absorb it and hopefully get to PKs. A lot of credit goes to the boys — everybody who stepped up to take a shot, that’s a big moment. That takes a lot of courage.”