Parma, OH – The Archbishop Hoban Knights traveled to Parma to take on the Padua Bruins on Thursday, September 11th. The 3-4-1 Knights looked to get back in the win column after losing two of their last three. For the 3-2-2 Bruins, they also hoped to get back in the win column after tying and losing their prior two games.
As the game got underway, the Bruins had a lively student section who hoped to see Senior Garrett Nowicki break the Padua record for most career goals. The record of 54-goals, previously set by Tony Malik in 1998, was tied by Nowicki against Howland on September 6th. He was unable to break the record in their matchup against CVCA on Tuesday, September 9th, setting up their contest against Hoban to be the record breaking night.
The Bruins would strike first in their matchup against the Knights, as Junior Eli Christine scored 20-minutes into the first half, putting Padua up 1-0. Then with 3-minutes left in the half, Nowicki would make history, breaking the record for most career goals by a Padua Bruin. This goal from Nowicki put the Bruin’s up 2-0. Not long after Nowicki’s goal, Senior Caleb Zolkowski scored, putting the Bruins up 3-0 with a minute left in the first half. With 30-seconds left in the first half, Eli Christine was fouled in the box. Nowicki lined up for the Penalty Kick, and scored his second goal of the day. The Bruins led 4-0 going into halftime.
After the hot start for the Bruins, the Knights eventually answered, making it 4-1. But any hopes of a comeback were put to bed after Garrett Nowicki scored his third goal of the game, making it 5-1. The Knights weren’t able to rally for a comeback as Padua went on to win their fourth game of the season.
Following his record breaking performance I talked to Garrett about what it meant to break the long standing record. He told me, “It feels great because that’s been my goal since I chose Padua. I’m just thankful for my coaches and teammates believing in me from the start.”
The Bruins will take on the Benedictine Bengals on Tuesday, September 16th in their next match.
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