By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star

A Niles goal that bounced off two Brandywine players and into the net turned the tide of Saturday’s cross-town showdown between the two rivals.

Or did it?

Regardless of whether or not you believe that goal sparked the Vikings, the end result was four second half goals and a 5-1 non-conference win for Niles.

Niles grabbed a quick 1-0 lead just three minutes into the match, but Brandywine had knotted the score at 1-1 with just 16 minutes to play in the opening half.

Coming out of halftime, the Vikings got a goal from Pierce Knoll in the 45th minute to give Niles a 2-1 advantage.

The ball deflected off a pair of Bobcats and past keeper Jason Andrews.

The goal appeared to give the momentum back to the Vikings, but both coaches agreed that the shift had already begun.

“We didn’t move our feet on that play and that’s why it happened. It turned the momentum, but they had the momentum pretty much most of the game. They possessed the ball a lot more than we did.”
“We started just working the ball,” Niles coach Jerry Holtgren said. “What we try to do in our system is work the ball out wide, spread the field out and I think we spread the field and tired them out. So I think at that point in the game the momentum had already started to shift.”

Derrick Nzabakira opened up the scoring for the Vikings as he beat a diving Andrews for a goal just three minutes into the match.
Brandywine’s Alex Moreno squared the match at 1-1 in the 24th minute and it would remained deadlocked for the rest of the first half despite several quality scoring chances by the Vikings.

Knoll’s goal five minutes into the second half gave Niles a boost, which is carried on for the next 20 minutes.

Christian Rackley scored off an assist from Oldair Palafox in the 51st minute and Devin Nyers added a goal in the 65th minute to make it a 4-1 contest.

Nzabakira completed the scoring with his second goal in the 78th minute.

Andrews had 12 saves for the Bobcats, while Derek Arguello and Ryan Casey stopped three shots for the Vikings.

Brandywine…1
Niles…5
Halftime score
Brandywine 1, Niles 1

First half
N – Derrick Nzabakira 3rd minute
B – Alex Moreno 24th minute

Second half
N – Pierce Knoll 45th minute
N – Christian Rackley 51st minute (Oldair Palafox assist)
N – Devin Nyers 65th minute
N – Nzabakira 78th minute