Maconaquah Schools

The Maconaquah Middle School Co-Ed Soccer Team captured the MMS Invite Trophy Saturday afternoon in a 4 team tournament hosted at Mac. The first game of the tourney had the Braves facing the Rochester Zebras in a rematch from earlier in the season. After gaining a 3-0 advantage midway through the 2nd half, some questionable substitutions led to the Zebras scoring two quick goals - making it 3-2 with less than 10 minutes to play. The Braves were able to hold on and add one more goal to win the match 4-2. Stats for the match: Jaxon Cole (1 goal, 1 assist), Kamarious Armstrong (1 goal, 1 assist), Max Berryman (1 goal, 1 assist), Martin Chaires (1 goal), and Evan Zeiser (1 assist). Goalkeepers Blaine Morgan and Xavier Waller split time in goal. Tippy Valley knocked off Peru in the 2nd game of the tourney, advancing to the championship game against the Braves. The championship game featured numerous great scoring opportunities for the Braves, but they struggled to connect in the first half of the match. The lone goal in the first half came on an absolute heater of a shot off the left foot of Cohen Beebe. The Braves were able to open up the game in the second half scoring some unconventional goals. Caleb Barnett launched a long throw in to a streaking Diego Jimenez would outran defenders for a goal. A short time later, Diego stepped into the path of a misplayed Valley goal kick and put it right back into the net. The final goal had a Braves player making a move, tripping over the ball, with Jaxon Cole swooping in to gather and score the ball making it 4-0. Blaine had a few great stops as goalkeeper in the 2nd game to blank the Zebras. Coach Wilhelm was excited about the win saying, "It was another great day of soccer. The kids are improving with every match. The unselfishness and willingness to listen and learn are exactly what you want from kids on any team you coach. Also, I promised the team (and assistant coaches) I would buy them ice cream this week if we won the tourney - so I'm happy they earned it!" The Braves move to 8-0 on the season and add the 2025 MMS Invite Championship to their trophy case.