In a thrilling finale to its 7-1 regular season, the eighth-grade boys soccer team from Our Lady of Fatima/ St. Anne School Falcons battled Holy Rosary of West Seattle last week to determine who would go on to the Archdiocese championships of Seattle.
With a cold, driving rain making the playing surface unpredictable, Friday afternoon at The game took place on Friday, Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m. at Miller Field, Holy Rosary scored the first two goals, showing speed and impressive finishing skills.
"We had our hands full against a bigger team from Holy Rosary," said Falcons coach James McDowall. "Holy Rosary exploited gaps in our defense. We struggled early defensively."
The Falcons bounced back by pressuring the Holy Rosary defense, which committed a foul inside the penalty area. Falcons forward Adam Evans took the kick, sending a low, hard drive to the right side of the net, making the score 2-1.
"Our first goal before the half inspired the boys to fight," McDowall said. "They had more ball control in the second half."
The Falcons opened the second half by stepping up the pressure on the Holy Rosary defense. A long goal kick by keeper Ian Smith landed midfield where forward Evans took the ball down the right flank, took a shot, which was blocked but bounced in the direction of Jackson Hutlyer who played garbage man and cleaned up the rebound to tie the game.
The teams traded attacks, peppering the goalies with several shots on goal. Both defenses rose to the occasion to deny any goals.
"We played hard and tried to double team their best players," said Falcons defender Nicky O'Connell. Added his teammate, and brother, Daniel, "They played hard and had a really good goalie."
Five minutes before regulation, the Holy Rosary defense committed another foul in the penalty area.
Evans again took the kick. This time the ball struck the crossbar, preserving a tie.
In overtime, a Holy Rosary striker got loose and beat Smith with a low hard shot to the right, ending the game and the Falcons' season.
"The Falcons had an impressive eighth-grade season," McDowall said. "We increased our time of possession as the season progressed. Welcoming four new teammates from St. Anne took a few weeks to adjust, but by mid season we were poised to make a championship run in a very competitive CYO eighth-grade division."
Holy Rosary went on to win the Eighth Grade Boys Championship.[[In-content Ad]]
