By Eddie Castro
In football, the Borough of Brooklyn opened some eyes throughout the city this year. In the sport of boys soccer, Brooklyn thrived this past season as well. When you talk about what leads to championship-caliber teams, every team has the one player who defines the odds and plays hard every night. Although there was no champion crowned this season in soccer, there were a few standouts this year that will lead to a positive future in the sport coming from our borough.
One school that stood out this season was the young men from Grand Street Campus. The squad’s performance played with a lot of intensity and consistency and it led them to the Class A Public Schools Athletic League Quarterfinals. The Wolves would eventually fall to Beacon in penalty kicks. The team lost to Beacon in the championship game last year. Another Brooklyn school that made the quarterfinals after clinching the Brooklyn A West Title during the regular season is Fort Hamilton. Canarsie posted an undefeated record during the regular season, only to come short to LaGuardia in the Class B quarters.
Players to watch: Grand Street’s Brial Wilson George was an offensive juggernaut for the Wolves this fall. He posted a stat line of 13 goals and 19 assists in 12 games during the regular season. His dominance made him one of the team’s most dangerous players on the front line. His teammate, Tajea Brown, was also a force to reckon with as he posted 17 goals in just 35 shot attempts to go along with 15 assists. Soccer in Brooklyn is on the rise and with these talented kids just scratching the surface with their talents, it’s only a matter of time where these players continue to develop and help their respective teams towards city titles.
Sports Notes: Other high school player standouts: Gregory Vaughn(Canarsie), 24 goals, 13 assists in 12 games. Khaled Abdella(Fort Hamilton), 23 goals on 55 shots in 13 games. 56 total points was tops in the entire league. (Next closest was 37) Aaron Kraus(Brooklyn Tech), the senior scored a team-best 10 goals in 13 games. Fort Ceci(Fort Hamilton), although he only scored 6 goals, the senior midfielder had a league-best 16 assists this year. (NFL Football) After a huge win over the division rival Dallas Cowboys, Odell Beckham, Jr. and the New York Giants welcome in another tough task as the late winning Detroit Lions come into town Sunday afternoon.