Bears match up against Richmond Hill High School and Benedictine Military School in annual road trip.
Friday, February 21
RICHMOND HILL, Ga. – Luke Isler's (2020) header in the 39th minute secured a well-deserved 1-1 draw with an undefeated Richmond Hill High School in front of a raucous crowd in the Bears first trip away from home this season on Friday, February 21.
Nothing appears to be certain in 2020, except death, taxes and the Bears falling behind 1-0 (usually against the run of play). True to form, Cambridge found itself conceding the opening goal on an unmarked header off of a Richmond Hill corner kick in the 14th minute. However, the Bears responded with their most complete and composed effort of the year and dominated the remainder of the first half.
The offense found its legs with multiple good chances, including Jeffrey Rael's (2021) shot over the crossbar in the 15th minute, and a nice sequence between Rael, Isler and Carter Johnson (2021) that resulted in a low Johnson shot just saved by the Richmond Hill keeper in the 22nd minute. Erik Holmen (2021) got into the action with a header off the crossbar on the resulting corner, and it appeared only a matter of time before Cambridge broke through.
Late in the first half, long-locked Brett Highlander (2021) send an inviting long ball into the box from midfield forcing the Richmond Hill defenders to attempt to head it away from danger. Isler immediately pounced on the clearance with a clean header into right corner for his first goal of the season and the game was knotted at 1 going into the break.
Cambridge pressed the attack in the 54th minute with Rael drawing a foul outside of the Richmond Hill box, and Holmen's subsequent free kick just passed wide of frame. Patrick Bourne's (2022) shot off a corner kick was then saved in the 60th minute. Richmond Hill forced the action in the late going requiring a couple of professional saves by Torren Celio (2020) in the final 20 minutes, but neither side was able to take the lead.
Saturday, February 22
SAVANNAH, Ga. – Less than 16 hours after Friday night's physical match against Richmond Hill, a short-handed Cambridge Bears side was unable to hold off the Benedictine Military School Cadets falling 3-0 on a gorgeous, sunny day in suburban Savannah on Saturday, February 22.
The cards were stacked against Cambridge in the Saturday matchup as within minutes of kickoff the Bears were down to 11 available field players. From the opening whistle, Benedictine immediately sent waves of players forward in a relentless onslaught forcing first half goalkeeper Christian Lopez (2021) to parry away multiple efforts including via a 1v1 save on a breakaway in the 10th minute. Still, the Cadets were able to score the opening goal in the 19th minute on a 20-yard strike.
The Bears immediately responded with some brilliant work by Carson Cassady (2023). Lopez started the action by passing horizontally to Luke Isler (2020) off of a goal kick. Isler then sent a ball from just outside of the Cambridge goal box across midfield to an in-stride Cassady who had perfectly timed his run to collect the ball behind the Cadet defense, and two dribbles later, calmly beat the keeper to the bottom right corner for a 1-1 tie, but he was ruled offside by the far linesman. Unfortunately, VAR review will not be available in Georgia until 2032, and the Bears went into halftime down 1-0.
The brief respite invigorated the Cadets attack and 2nd half goalkeeper Toren Celio (2020) was forced into action early and often, many times in spectacular fashion, to keep the lead from growing. The Cadets doubled their lead in the 50th minute and were able to cement the game away with 6 minutes remaining for the final margin.
The Bears open region play with their next match at home against Centennial on Friday, February 28 at 8:00PM.
Go Bears!