Diverse Burlington secures boys soccer crown

Seraphin Iradukunka carved out a moment of brilliance.

The midfield held possession from the opening minute on.

And the once-maligned back line proved unbreakable.

The team defined by 13 nationalities spoke one common language Saturday.

“It was the beautiful game,” coach Fran Demasi said.

Behind Iradukunka’s second-half strike and the defense’s fourth shutout of the playoffs, No. 2 Burlington put away top-seeded Essex for a 1-0 win in the Division I high school boys soccer state championship at Buck Hard Field.

“We controlled the middle, we controlled the back. We countered, we attacked, we passed,” Demasi said. “It’s probably one of the best games we’ve played all year as far as possession-wise.”

After two subpar seasons followed by a disappointing quarterfinal upset a year ago, the Seahorses banded together and tore through 2016 with a 17-1 campaign for their first crown since 2008.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Iradukunka, a senior. “It was worth waiting for these four years — a perfect ending, couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Demasi: “I thought we played a fantastic game and we’ve played great all year. These guys deserved to win the state championship.”

The Hornets (15-2-1), whose two losses were at the hands of Burlington, had their nine-game winning streak halted.

“They earned every little bit of what they got this year,” second-year coach Jake Orr said of his Hornets. “It’s not what kids want to hear after a tough loss, but I told them they had some great accomplishments this season. I’m really, really proud of them.”

Iradukunka, a native of Tanzania, broke through for the game’s only goal in the 51st minute.

Taking a bouncing pass from a teammate, Iradukunka turned, dropped his shoulder and dribbled into the 18-yard box where he unloaded a low, left-footed blast inside the left post and past Essex goalie Paul Federico (three saves).

“That’s what’s special about Seraphin, he doesn’t need a second invitation,” BHS junior midfielder Julian Segar-Reid said. “I knew the game was over as soon as we scored.”

Segar-Reid’s confidence in the defense was well-served. The back line of Diatourou Drame, Jonas Lobe, Bienfait Badibanga and Ekrem Hadzic and goalie Niels Arentzen didn’t allow a goal in four playoff games. And the unit yielded only nine tallies over the course of the season.

Worlds away from last year’s 23 conceded goals.

“That was something we had to focus on since Day 1,” said Demasi, adding Drame’s arrival from Colchester and Lobe’s leadership keyed the turnaround

Segar-Reid: “That was all that we needed to push us to a championship run and to win today.”

But the final 30 minutes still proved nervy for the Seahorses.

Long, enticing runs down the right sideline created chances for Essex in Burlington’s defensive third.

Tristan Salgado nearly had a lofted cross land on the foot of a hard-charging Collin Asoera on the far post before dropping over the end line.

Later, a Salgado rip off a BHS turnover zoomed over the cross bar, and then a dangerous Essex corner kick was gobbled up by Arentzen (one save).

But other chances — especially earlier — were fleeting for an Essex side that had used its size to control matches and created goals off set pieces in its run to the final.

Burlington finished with an edge in corners (9-2) and shots (14-4).

“Credit to (BHS), they are a really, really good team. We had a tough time getting the ball away from them,” Orr said. “They came out and played their best. They dictated the play and had that one shining moment that we weren’t able to find.”

For a senior-heavy Hornets group, a second title-game loss in three years was tough to swallow.

“I just told them I think this is probably my favorite team I’ve ever been a part of, as a player or a coach,” said Orr, a former multi-sport standout at Essex. “In terms of the guys we had in the locker room, the personalities we had, the way kids jelled and got along with each other — I couldn’t have asked for a better group of kids.”

United by the school’s global reach, the Seahorses welcomed their outfit of 13 nationalities and 21 total languages. Before and after the game, Segar-Reid told the team: “You know what boys, it doesn’t matter where we are from.”

And he meant it.

“This team embodies that and I’ve never seen a team with more work ethic — it was a pleasure to be a part of this,” he said.

“I’m proud to be a part of the team,” said Drame, of Senegalese descent.

Multi-cultural Burlington unites on soccer field

But it wasn’t easy.

Arguments halted practices in past years. Chemistry gave way to individual, selfish play.

“If you want to come play soccer here, you are going to be a team player and get along with everyone,” Demasi said. “That’s what the coaches and I have been preaching since we got here three years ago and it finally showed.”

Proud of his school and community, Segar-Reid has a connection to Burlington’s last title in 2008. He was a fourth-grader in the Buck Hard Field bleachers when Elia Louis, after scoring the game-winning, overtime goal, flung his jersey into the stands.

Segar-Reid snatched it out of the air.

“I still have it at home, it’s in my drawer,” Segar-Reid said. “I should probably give it back.”

Contact Alex Abrami at 660-1848 or aabrami@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/aabrami5