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STEUBENVILLE --The Brooke boys soccer team controlled the ball and the match against Catholic Central on Thursday.
The Bruins took 18 shots on goal -- scoring on six of them -- en route to a 6-0 victory against the Crusaders on the Tony Recinella Soccer Field at the Michael Carapellotti Crusader Sports Complex.
“It was a good day,” Brooke (2-0) head coach Joe Pepe said. “We’re coming. We still have a lot of work to do. The kids are playing well. They are gelling well. We have a lot of good competition coming up.
“Steve (Kopcha) always does a great job with his team. He does a great job. It is nice to come over here and get a victory. Last year, we lost to them at Brooke.”
Brooke collected two goals in the first half before tallying four more in the second.
“Any Joe Pepe coached team is a good team,” said Kopcha, the head coach of CCHS (1-1-1). “They played better than we did. They were a couple of steps quicker. They beat us to every ball. They possessed the ball. They moved the ball. They worked a lot harder than we did today.”
Eddie Marks recorded a hat trick and an assist to lead the way for the Bruins. Blaise Buchmelter contributed a goal and an assist, while Telmo Randazzo and Ben Ferguson each finished with a goal. Hunter Adams added two assists, while Nick Sagan and Dylan Black each added one.
Brooke used two goalies. Andrew Coursin started in the net, and he made three saves before being replaced with less than 15 minutes left to play by Jeremy Gilchrist, who did not make a save.
“Our defense is doing a stellar job out there,” Pepe said. “We have a lot of work to do, but we are very proud of them. Dan (Shorts) is proud of them. They are working hard.
“We played John Marshall (Wednesday) night. We played here tonight. Saturday, we go down to Liberty Harrison, and then we come back and play at Creek. I should have bought my own travel bag. That’s all we are doing right now, but that’s because of everything that has happened. We just want to keep everyone healthy. If we do that, we will be fine.”
Leon Zaeski made 12 saves in goal for Catholic Central.
“They only lost one senior from last year’s team,” Kopcha said. “They have got a lot of the same players back. They have another year together. They have more experience. They play together well. He has got a good group right now.”
Marks scored both of his team’s goals in the first half before adding one in the second half to complete his hat trick.
Brooke is off to a good start this season, and the Bruins are happy to be able to be out on the field this season.
“We lost three weeks in June,” Pepe said. “We were lucky to have our flex days. We spread those out. We lost about a month. Brooke was closed for three weeks. We have had to play catch up. We still have work to do. The kids have adapted. We did some double sessions. We have some young kids, and they have adapted very well but we did have to catch up. We had double sessions when school was out. The kids are doing a very good job. It’s the way things go. Things happen, and when the smoke clears and the dust settles, it is our job to pull their talent out. We have got a good group of seniors right now. We have got a good core.
“Take nothing away from Steve. He does a great job. His boys will be back. They are going to have a good team.”
Catholic Central opened the season by tying Indian Creek, 2-2, Aug. 21 at Kettlewell Stadium before defeating Beaver Local on the road.
“It is still tough,” Kopcha said. “We are still moving guys around. We are still trying to fill positions. We are still learning. We are still trying to develop our team. We want to get better every day. It is going to be a working process the entire year. By the end of the year, we hope to be playing our best soccer.”
UP NEXT
Brooke: Travels to Liberty Harrison for a noon contest Saturday.
Catholic Central: Hosts Wheeling Central at noon Saturday.