By Seth Canata

The Bucks’ men’s soccer team finished their 2-week homestand with two separate back-to-back shutouts, losing only one game out of five, and tallying 27 goals in the process.

BCCC vs. Middlesex:

On Sept. 25, the Centurions suffered a heartbreaking loss to Middlesex, 1-0, giving up the lone goal with less than 10 minutes to play in the match.

Compared with their stellar offensive efforts the previous week, the Centurions looked a little flat in the first half, yet found themselves tied 0-0 at halftime.

Coach Burroughs’ tried to provide the spark during the halftime break, as he noted, “We are better than this guys, let’s have a stronger second half out there!” His efforts to rally his players were unsuccessful.

The second half continued much the same as the first, as the Centurions played to a stalemate until a late defensive lapse allowed a close-range shot to slip just by goalie Mike Klimowicz for the deciding tally.

Throughout the game, the Centurions matched their opponents in offensive chances, but lacked the crisp touches and finesse from the previous week that allowed them to score seemingly at will.

To be sure, Middlesex was a more composed team than their previous opponent, the CC of Philadelphia, but Captain Jim Traynor voiced his concerns directly following the game, saying, “Now you see how lazy work in practice shows up in a real game.”

Let’s hope that this lesson goes not forgotten as the Centurions now move to the latter stage of the season.

Bucks vs. Montgomery:

On Sept. 27, the Centurions posted a hard-fought 3-0 victory against Montgomery, perhaps gaining a psychological edge over their cross-town rivals in the process.

Earlier this year, the two teams played to a 1-1(2OT) tie, and this game looked as though it might be headed in the same direction. Centurions’ head coach Justin Burroughs’ pre-game comments to his team were brief, “Let’s just work harder out there!”

In an evenly matched first half that ended 0-0, the Centurions had an early goal disallowed for having too much contact with the opposing goalie in the box.

A header redirected in on the goalie seemed to be covered, but the goalie also appeared to back up and cross the goal line. The referee briefly conferred with the linesman, and then signaled “no goal”.

Coach Burroughs’ advice at half-time, “We need to finish our chances,” was followed to perfection. The Centurions refused to be denied in the second half, powered by 2 goals from Jared Dickson.

Dickson, 19, a freshman midfielder out of Neshaminy High School, scored his first goal on a quick redirection of an accurate cross from Jim Traynor.

His second goal was a picture-perfect header off a finessed chip pass from Sean Kurtz that barely evaded the defender, but was well within Dickson’s range.

“The difference between this game’s results and last games is obvious. We worked so much harder in practice for this, it’s nice to get the win,” Dickson commented afterward.

Captain Jim Traynor put the game further out of reach off a nice thru-ball from Alex Weinberg. “If we practice well, play hard, we will perform well. It’s that simple,” Traynor explained after the game.

“We finished well today, put the ball on net, and into the net. It’s what we have to do to keep playing well, keep picking each other up if someone has a bad game.”

This game was a case in point, hard-fought, but hard-won by Bucks – and worth the effort!

Bucks vs. Harrisburg:

On Sept. 29, the Centurions defeated Harrisburg, 7-0, led by three goals and two assists from freshman forward Sean Kurtz.

Kurtz scored his first two goals in the first half, and the offensive pressure the Centurions put on their opponents was often overwhelming.

The Centurions led 5-0 at the break, with additional tallies coming from Stefan Hofmann, Jared Dickson, and Wayne Horger, Jr.

Coach Justin Burroughs cautioned his team to play smart in the second half, saying “Keep possession, take your shots, but be respectful and don’t show off.”

The offensive chances kept coming for the Centurions in the second half, and Kurtz completed the hat trick on a nice feed from Kevin Hilton.

Kurtz, 18, of Langhorne, PA, echoed how his team’s effort in practice has produced results. “We took our serious practice mentality out there onto the field, and the results showed.”

But Kurtz was not done there. Jonathan Bravo took a pass from Kurtz late in the game, and put a header in the back of the net for the Centurions seventh goal.

Captain Mike Klimowicz, who notched his fifth shutout of the season (one in a 0-0 tie), saw little action in goal, but turned away all the shots he faced.

“The guys were terrific on defense, and (co-captains) Jim (Traynor) and Sean (O’Neill) were vocal out there as always. Now we just need to focus, and keep this level of play going as we go on the road.”

The Centurions, whose record is now 5-4-2, were scheduled to face Delaware County Community College in an away game on Oct. 4, then play Delaware again on Oct. 6 at home, making up an early-season rainout.