Neither Brockton nor North Attleboro would give an inch on a frigid evening. And after 100 scoreless minutes at Veterans Stadium in Quincy last night, penalty kicks were required to determine who would join Weymouth in the Division 1 South boys' final tomorrow night.
Mello Barros, Brockton's fifth kicker, calmly placed the decisive score past North Attleboro's Breandan Hamilton to seal a 2-0 shootout victory for the Boxers and send them to their second sectional final in four years.
"Cool, calm, and collected," said Brockton coach Rick Robens of Barros following his clinching penalty.
It was the second penalty Barros has taken in his career, and it's a safe assumption that the circumstances regarding this one were more consequential than the one he took when he was 10.
"I thought about putting it in the back of the net," said Barros, when asked what he was thinking prior to taking the shot.
It seemed like a simple explanation, but after watching some of the previous kicks, Barros would have been forgiven for feeling a bit of nerves.
Brockton's Jordan Branco and North Attleboro's Colin Flynn opened the shootout by hitting the same spot on the crossbar. Moises Alves followed with a goal and Boxer goalkeeper Greg Dean saved North Attleboro's next shot. Dean took the next penalty, and hit the inside of the post. The ball ricocheted along the line, bounced off Hamilton, and stayed out.
North Attleboro (18-2-1) didn't force a save out of the Boxer goalkeeper with their remaining two shots, hitting the post and sending one over the crossbar.
"It was nerve-racking," said Dean. "I didn't want us to end up short."
Nearing the end of regulation, both teams seemed to inject a little more urgency in their attacks, sending more bodies forward in hopes of avoiding overtime. North Attleboro almost took the lead. Jarrod Clark tore down the left flank and fired a shot that was saved by Dean, but deflected right into the path of Sam Ocel, whose point-blank shot was denied by Dean.
Branco nearly scored a spectacular goal in second-half stoppage time. The senior received the ball about 30 yards from goal and immediately attacked two defenders, turning them inside-out before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot that just rose above the crossbar.
Brockton (16-3-2) will face Weymouth in a rematch of a 4-1 Boxer win Oct. 27.
Division 1 North: Woburn watched Haverhill erase a two-goal deficit over the final 15 minutes of regulation, but senior Dave Clark scored with 5:09 remaining in overtime and the eighth-seeded Tanners escaped with a 3-2 triumph in a sectional semifinal at Cawley Stadium in Lowell . . . Sophomore Gustavo Santos scored in the 73d minute to lift Framingham past Lexington, 2-1, in the other semifinal. Marlon Ramalho also scored for the Flyers.
Division 2 North: Concord-Carlisle advanced to the sectional final by defeating Masconomet, 4-3.
Division 2 South: Andrew Revanales scored three goals to lead Sharon past Walpole, 4-1, in a semifinal.
Division 3 South: Justin Pugliese and Ryan Kulik scored as Pembroke beat Norton, 2-0. Pembroke will face East Bridgewater tomorrow for the title. The Vikings beat Bourne, 3-1, in the other semifinal.
Girls Division 2 North: Tess Saunders's overtime goal lifted Danvers past Belmont, 2-1. Ashley Sullivan also scored for the Falcons.
For video and more from the Division 1 North boys' soccer semifinals, visit Boston.com/schools.
