Boys soccer: Sher’s goal lifts Branson into section semifinals

The Branson School boys soccer team battled into the wind during the first half and got into the break not only without conceding a goal but having created the better chances against Kennedy (Fremont) in the North Coast Section Division IV quarterfinals.

As good as the Bulls may have felt about that accomplishment, they felt even better with the wind at their backs. Jonah Sher scored inside the first minute or so of the second half and Branson made that goal stand up for a 1-0 victory at College of Marin on Saturday.

“Any time you play in the wind, it’s just a different game,” Sher said, “The team that’s going into the wind, for me at least, it’s so much harder because a big part of our style is playing long balls and really for any team long balls are important. With the wind so strong as it was today, not being able to get those over the back line in the first half, it was really hard honestly.”

Sher’s goal sends No. 2 Branson (8-6-3) into the semifinals for another game at COM on Wednesday against either No. 3 Piner or No. 6 Santa Rosa.

“I remember the year before I was a freshman – I forget what school it was – but I watched under the lights. They were in the semifinal” said Sher, a senior. “That’s kind of cool to see, kind of full circle there now we’re leading the team into the semifinal. This is new territory for this squad of guys.”

Branson made it to the D-IV semifinal in 2022 as the No. 5 seed, falling 2-0 against top-seeded Piedmont.

The Bulls provided the decisive moment on Saturday against No. 10 Kennedy (11-9-3) in the 41st minute after winning a corner kick to open the second half. Sebastian La Duc took the corner kick, serving it into Kennedy’s box where the ball found Sher on a couple of occasions during the scrum.

“I kind of took a moment, tried to shoot it but it ended up being a good pass to Kai Mekonnen,” Sher said. “Then Kai Mekonnen swiftly saw the ball – I think it was coming at his leg – then he played a good ball. From there, I was looking at the ball straight to my chest. I raised my foot and I tried to make as much contact with the ball as I can and it ends up going in.”

Kennedy goalie Mateo Barroso got his hands to the ball and attempted to parry it up over his goal. The ball struck the underside of the crossbar and went in to give Branson a 1-0 lead.

Sher, normally a right back for Branson, was playing up as a winger on Saturday at the suggestion of assistant coach Felipe “Pep” Galindo.

“Pep put him up there,” Branson coach Tom Ryan said. “We’ve been looking at our back line and just thinking …is there an opportunity to put Jonah, who is a physical presence, a little bit further up the park? So for him to make what I would call a sophisticated run as a forward getting onto the end of Kai’s ball was just a great run. To finish it is not an easy thing to do and, in a 0-0 game, it ends up being that moment that carries the day.”

Kennedy, which won the coin toss and opted to take the wind in the first half, struggled to generate much going into the wind in the second half. Kennedy’s best chance of the game probably came in the 39th minute when midfielder Jesous Mendoza played a through ball to Adrian Gutierrez behind Branson’s back line. The linesman’s flag went up, though, ending Kennedy’s most promising moment to that point.

Kennedy pushed numbers forward – specifically center back Markar Velinkov – with about 15 minutes to play in an attempt to find the equalizer.

“Pep and I were both waiting for – we know No. 10 in the back for them [Velinkov] is a very talented player, also,” Ryan said. “We got good scouting reports and the film showed that when they do get down, he then joins the attack. He went up on the right side so we went to a 5-4-1 [five defenders, four midfielders, one forward] to make sure we were bolstered, just to have cover on their guy.”

Kennedy’s best moment late on probably came when Mendoza had the ball outside the box, moving left to right and back again trying to find enough space to squeeze off a shot. Branson had defenders in the right place at every turn and the threat was eventually diffused.

“In the dying embers of the game in the second half, I think (Mendoza) had a run in and he was kind of dribbling through everyone,” Sher said. “He’s a really talented player. He reminds me of this kid named Jackson Ahlemeyer who plays for Terra Linda – really hard to tackle. He kind of broke through and we had five guys in the area so luckily we were able to get at least a tip on it and it get it out but that was definitely scary.”