Barcelona moves past Lenox to reach Adult Soccer League championship

PITTSFIELD — Barcelona entered its first Berkshire Masters League season as a collection of players who had never all played together. By the end of the regular season, the new Pittsfield-based side had earned the tournament’s top seed. Now it is headed to the championship game. Top-seeded Barcelona used two second-half goals from Fabio Cardoso to pull away for a 4-1 win over sixth-seeded Lenox in the league semifinals at Berkshire Community College.

Marco Santos and Luke Chambers also scored for Barcelona, which will return to BCC at 6 p.m. Thursday to play for the championship. “I thought it was the best game we’ve played,” Cardoso said. “We moved the ball around, all around the pitch. Guys were moving, finding the open man, through balls, over the top. And I think we did everything we had to do tonight.” Barcelona entered the postseason at 10-1-1, earning the No. 1 seed and a bye into the semifinals after finishing atop the seven-team, over-40 league.

Lenox went 4-8 during the regular season before earning its place in the final four with an upset of third-seeded Pittsfield Sideline in the quarterfinals. The difference between those records was apparent at times, but Lenox made Barcelona work through the opening half. Barcelona controlled much of the early possession and struck first when Lenox could not clear the ball from danger. Santos took advantage, supplying a strong finish to put his side ahead 1-0.

Lenox did not allow the early goal to dictate the half. After its first promising opportunity was stopped by an offside call, Lenox began finding more room going forward. It worked the ball out wide on the equalizer before finding Nick Pitel open near the top of the box. Pitel met it with a well-struck half-volley to bring Lenox level at 1-1. “We struggled with these guys the first two games this year because they’re a feisty group,” Cardoso said. “But we just made the ball move, and I thought we played extremely well today.” Barcelona gradually began sending more numbers into the attack, creating a quick series of chances that stretched Lenox’s defense.

Chambers converted the last of them to restore Barcelona’s lead at 2-1, but goalkeeper Stefan Ogle kept Lenox within striking distance for the remainder of the half. Ogle denied a Barcelona attacker in a one-on-one, and shortly after, produced his best save of the day at full stretch in the closing minutes of the first half, preserving the one-goal margin at the break. The pressure gradually became more difficult for Lenox to withstand after halftime though. Santos nearly added a second when his shot was deflected just wide of a largely open goal, and Barcelona continued to find space with its combinations, crosses and balls over the top.

After a scramble near the edge of the box, the ball dropped to Cardoso in space. He drove his finish into the bottom corner to extend the lead to 3-1. Barcelona settled into even greater control from there, showing patience in possession while stringing together repeated trips into the attacking third. Lenox had a dangerous moment when it kept a ball from going out and created a second opportunity from the play, but it could not recover the momentum it had found after Pitel’s equalizer.

Cardoso eventually added his second goal to seal the 4-1 result. “You can always get better,” Cardoso said. “We could have done little things better. I mean, I could have played much better, but overall, I thought we were great.” The win continued a rapid rise for a Barcelona side that did not exist in the league before this season. Its players entered the year without much shared experience, then lost only once across the 12-game regular season before reaching the championship in their first attempt. “It’s our first year in the league, a bunch of guys who’ve never played together,” Cardoso said. “It’s great. It’s a good family.

We had a great season.” As the tournament’s highest seed, Barcelona will return to BCC for Thursday’s 6 p.m. final against South County, which has made five straight finals, and lost all five. “This being the best game we’ve played, it’s a positive going into the championship game,” Cardoso said. “We’ve just got to take whatever we did today and bring it on Thursday, because it’s going to be a tough game, no matter who we play.”