Bishop Brady’s fine season stopped in state semis

Bow Editor — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 21:10:00 GMT

CONCORD – The call came with two outs and one on in the bottom of the third inning. Bishop Brady pitcher Jill Nemcovich was cruising when she reached down and grabbed some dirt. She rubbed her hand on her pants and gripped the ball.

The umpire ruled the move illegal, and the runner advanced to second. A base hit later, Brady trailed. Then an assistant coach was ejected for arguing with the umpire.

By the end of the frame, the third-seeded Lady Green Giants faced a three-run hole, and their opponent, No. 2 Portsmouth, pulled away for an 8-2 victory on Thursday, June 12.

Shawn Brechtel, Brady’s head coach, acknowledged while his players couldn’t control the officiating, they could control their play.

“Hey, we didn’t string hits together. We had our opportunities, and we didn’t take advantage,” he said.

The frustrating conclusion, however, takes nothing from a season that saw the Lady Green Giants compile a program-best 15-2 record. A 4-3 first-round win against Pembroke and a 1-0 victory over Kennett in the quarterfinals pushed Brady to the Class I state semifinals for the second time in four years.

While the Green Giants lose five seniors, including four starters, Brechtel said the future is promising.

“I only see us getting stronger. They’re going to play better, they’re going to develop, and I think we’ll be successful in the upcoming years,” he said. “It always helps when you have depth in your program, and we have a lot of interchangeable parts. We’re trying to build a well-rounded team, and if the kids stick with it and keep doing their jobs, we’ll be tough for teams to beat.”

Bishop Brady falls in hockey final for second straight season

Bow Editor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:08:00 GMT

BY MATT SCHOOLEY

The puck from the Division I boys ice hockey championship ended up where it spent a great deal of the game – with Bishop Guertin goalkeeper Dave O’Brien.

O’Brien notched his eighth shutout of the year to lead his team to a 3-0 victory over Bishop Brady, stopping 23 shots as the Cardinals won their second straight title.

After the game on Sunday, March 9, O’Brien stood in the corridors of the Verizon Wireless Arena – the championship plaque clutched in one hand, his glove on the other.

“Here, you kept it out of the net all game,” said a Guertin assistant coach, dropping the puck in his glove. “You deserve it.”

After a scoreless first period, the Cardinals grabbed a 1-0 lead when Eric Harries received the puck from Kyle Curry and worked it past Bishop Brady goalie Tyler Ingerson.

With 7:35 remaining in the second period, Harries returned the favor, setting Curry up for a goal to put Bishop Guertin ahead by two goals.

That lead was nearly cut in half late in the second period. With 37 seconds remaining in the period and O’Brien out of position, Bishop Brady’s Brooks Herrington had an open shot at the right side of the net, but O’Brien dove across the crease and made the glove save.

“I went down too early and just had to sprawl out for it, and it ended up in my glove,” said O’Brien. “Bishop Brady has a lot of great players up front, and my defense made it really easy for me.”

Bishop Guertin head coach Gary Bishop said he was as shocked as the rest of the raucous crowd in attendance to see the puck land in O’Brien’s glove.

“I saw the light, and then I thought what everyone else was thinking: how did he do that?” he said. “It’s really nothing new.”

Harries added his second goal of the game with 5:54 remaining to cap the scoring.

Bishop Guertin also defeated the Green Giant squad last year to earn the championship.

“Being in the title game back to back years is the upside, although obviously you don’t want to lose two in a row,” said Bishop Brady head coach Clint Edinger. “We’re still searching for that championship, but the future is bright, and we’re going to continue to get better.”

Bishop was at least as specific with his wish list for 2009.

“Another win would be alright,” he said with a smile.

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Bishop Brady’s fine season stopped in state semis

Bishop Brady falls in hockey final for second straight season