Burlington Central soccer blanks Johnsburg

It was only fitting Thursday that on senior night at Burlington Central 3 seniors would spearhead a defensive effort that resulted in a 3-0 shutout win over visiting Johnsburg in Big Northern East Conference boys soccer action. It was the regular season finale for the Rockets (13-5-2, 12-2), who finished second in the conference behind Harvard and begin regional play on Tuesday.

Center back Nathan Moxness, leftback Tony Thompson and defensive midcenter Nate McMahon all helped to hold Johnsburg to just 10 shots, none of which were a serious scoring threats.

"I am so happy for our seniors," Central coach Michael Gecan said. "Our senior defenders did a tremendous job. Nate is the heart of the team in the middle. It doesn't show up in the stat line, but his energy is what really drives us. Nathan Moxness in the back is just a tremendous leader for us and does a fantastic job. Tony really stepped up for us tonight and had his best game of the season. I couldn't be prouder of those guys. This was a great way for them to end the regular season with a shutout."

The game was a defensive battle until the Rockets finally broke through with a goal from freshman Luke Schramme with 10:36 left in the first half. Schramme gathered in a rebound from 20 yards out from the right post off a shot by Cade Dougherty and angled a shot into the lower left corner.

"I thought we did a good job of possessing the ball." Gecan said. "We just stayed in control ourselves and when you do that the scoring opportunities are going to come."

The score remained 1-0 until Jack Schramme finally gave the Rockets a little breathing room when he scored with 21:10 left in the game on an assist from Aaron Burnside to make it 2-0.

Jack Schramme added a second goal with 12:16 left to give him 21 for the season. The final goal was assisted by Chris Leberecht.

"It was a great way to get ready for the playoffs," Schramme said. "It gives us a lot of confidence and we are glad we could win it for the seniors. They are the main piece of this team."

The defense did the rest. Central goalkeeper Ryan Fitzgerald had 7 saves.

"We have prided ourselves in having a solid defense all season," McMahon said. "This was a great way to finish it. Everybody stepped up and did their part. We are proud of what we have done so far this season, but we know we can do a lot more."

The Rockets head into the postseason with a 5-game win streak.

"We are going to ride that momentum," Gecan said. "We feel like we are ready for next week."