The Bradley soccer team went to Evansville on Oct. 27 with the hopes of securing a win and brightening their playoff chances. In the end, the Braves could not prevail, losing 0-1 and officially being eliminated from the postseason.
The Braves tried to push the ball up the field throughout the game but were hindered by mistakes and fouls. Senior Pepe Mellado led the team in shots, with two out of the Braves seven while also leading in shots on goal (one) despite coming off the bench.
Juniors Charlie Dickerson and Jackson Fyda played a solid game on defense along with freshman Ethan Beauman-Ansah and sophomore Drew Berry, the Braves’ goalkeeper. The Purple Aces only mustered up six shots and two shots on goal. Goalkeeping takes a lot of skill and communication and Berry can do both.
“He’s [Berry] really developed a lot as a goalkeeper,” head coach Jim DeRose said. “He’s super athletic and is really commanding of the penalty area. We’re really excited about his future.”
The one goal Berry let in was off the foot of Kai Phillip, who corralled a corner kick in the 39th minute to put Evansville on the board. The Braves tried furiously to find the equalizer in the second half, but their wishes did not come true.
DeRose has been around for 28 seasons and has seen many types of teams grace the Hilltop, but this season was a particularly intriguing one for him. It was announced on Thursday that DeRose would be retiring as the head coach of Bradley’s program.
“Weird season, we had that start where we were unbeaten for eight games and injuries hit,” DeRose said. “We almost had equivalent wins, losses and ties, but [I’m] really proud of the guys.”
