FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 6, 2012
Courtesy of the Brockton Enterprise, Written by Jim Fenton
The two championships were won just minutes apart, one in Manchester, N.H., and the other about 30 miles south in North Andover.
Southern New Hampshire University pulled off a unique daily double on Sunday afternoon when its men’s and women’s soccer teams both earned Northeast-10 Conference tournament titles at nearly the exact same time.
Adding to the rarity of the feat was the fact that there was a brother-and-sister act involved.
Former Brockton High School standouts Jordan Branco, pictured, a senior forward on the men’s team, and his younger sister, Morgan Branco, a freshman forward on the women’s team, became NE-10 champions on the same day while playing for the same school.
The Norton residents also joined their father, Ernie, in the conference winner’s circle since he was the head coach of the Stonehill College men’s team when it won tourney titles in 1990 and 1991.
“There are really no words for it,” said Morgan, who has three goals in her first collegiate season. “It was so exciting.
“During our celebration and trophy ceremony, one of the coaches told us the men had won. To share that moment of my team winning and my brother’s team winning, I’m just glad he was here.”
Said Jordan, who transferred to So. New Hampshire from the University of Connecticut in 2009: “I’ve been here for 2 1/2 years and we never won it. Having that feeling was just unexplainable, and I was really happy for my sister to be here and be able to experience the same thing.”
The So. New Hampshire women were home for the NE-10 title game and edged Adelphi, 1-0, for the program’s first championship since joining the conference in 2000.
Minutes after that game ended in New Hampshire, the men’s team finished off a 2-1 win at Merrimack College for their first NE-10 crown since 2008. Jordan Branco had an assist in that victory.
Ernie Branco was at the men’s game watching his son while his wife, Jennifer, was in Manchester keeping tabs on Morgan and the women’s game.
“With me coaching all those years and still involved in the game and now seeing my kids have that success, it’s an emotional time,” said Ernie Branco. “How many times does this happen, a son and daughter win championships in the same conference at the same school on the same day? It was just amazing.”
The Branco family will be busy again this weekend with both teams hosting NCAA Div. 2 tournament games.
