Boys Regional Soccer: Open Door shut out by Kidron Central Christian

BROOKLYN — For the second straight year, Open Door's season came to an end in the regional semifinals, this time with a 5-0 loss at the hands of Kidron Central Christian. Unlike last year's loss, however, which brought with it the end of the careers of a number of impactful seniors, the Patriots had just one senior in the starting lineup Wednesday night for a team that wildly exceeded expectations. "Candidly, coming into the year with only one senior starting, we thought we would see how it goes and put it together," said Open Door coach Joel Baker. "And the team started to come together at the end of the season and play really well. It was honestly a lot of fun to watch this team grow over the course of the year." The only senior who started for Open Door on Wednesday was goalkeeper Micah Brooks, who has become an integral part of the team since trading basketball for soccer going into his junior season. "I joined the soccer team my sophomore year and I found a lot of joy in it," Brooks said. "After I got the spot to play goalie last year, I wanted to focus on it, so I took a step away from basketball to train a lot in the offseason. This team means so much to me, soccer means so much to me, and I wanted to be the best I could for my senior year." That work has shown this season, and despite the score, Brooks had an excellent game Wednesday, making six saves to keep the Patriots within reach until a late flurry from the Comets put away the game. The senior gave his blood, sweat and tears for Open Door, as he had to come off the field briefly in the first half following a brilliant double save to keep the game scoreless, the second of which came with his face. "I had a bloody nose, and they told me I had to come off," Brooks said. "I actually was OK after a second sitting off, and it kind of hurt, but I'm OK. I could never quit on my team." Unfortunately for the Patriots, the boost of Brooks' return was short-lived, as just five minutes after his brief stint on the sidelines, Aaron Edmiston opened the scoring for the Comets, curling a shot just past Brooks' outstretched glove into the bottom corner. Five minutes later, it was 2-0 as Cooper Rohrer got on the end of an Ezra Coleman corner and sent a looping header over the head of an Open Door defender on the line. Open Door's best period of the game came after it conceded the second goal, as the Patriots were able to build some momentum going into the second half. "We changed a few things around, made a few adjustments," Baker said. "We tried to get a few more guys forward, and it worked for a period of time, but when you give up another mistake in the back, it defeats the energy a bit." Mistakes at the back were a theme of the second half for Open Door, as each of the three goals that Central Christian scored came off defensive errors, and it was Lyle Endsley's that came after a ball deflected through Open Door's defense, leaving him one-on-one with Brooks to make it 3-0. That took the air out of the match. While two more Comets goals in the final 15 minutes made the final score a bit ugly for the Patriots, this season was just the beginning for a team that will return all 10 of its outfield starters and will have its sights set on making it at least one round further next year. "Sometimes games end in a way you wouldn't want them to end," Baker said. "And sometimes seasons end in a way you don't want them to end. I wish it didn't end like this, but at the same time, the beautiful part is we've got 10 of our starting 11 back next year, and we'll be back." Contact Will Cunningham at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Central Christian 5, Open Door 0 Goals: OD - ; CC - Aaron Edmiston (18th minute), Cooper Rohrer (23rd minute), Lyle Endsley (49th minute), Ben Miller (66th minute), Own Goal (80th minute) Assists: OD - ; CC - Ezra Coleman Goalkeepers: OD - Micah Brooks (6 saves); CC - Bryan Martin (3 saves) Shots on goal: OD - 3; CC - 10 Fouls: OD - 11; CC - 3 Corner kicks: OD - 3; CC - 6 Offside: OD - 0; CC - 3 Halftime - Central Christian, 2-0