On Tuesday, Feb. 25, the Archie Williams boys varsity soccer team (12-4-5) took on the Cardinal Newman High School Cardinals (13-3-3) for the Division II North Coast Section (NCS) semi-final game at Cardinal Newman. The Falcons won the game during golden goal overtime, qualifying them for the Division II NCS finals and the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) tournament.
The first half consisted of back-and-forth possession from both teams and many shots on both goals. 15 minutes into the half, senior forward Willy Finley assisted junior forward Sean Chamberlin in securing a 1-0 lead for the Falcons. The Falcons continued to make strong drives down the field, attacking the Cardinals’ goal for the rest of the half.
The second half started with the Cardinals dominating the Falcons’ goal, resulting in them tying up the game with a score of 1-1, just four minutes into the half. The Falcons responded by dominating the Cardinals’ goal strongly. Both teams continued to take shots on goal, and sophomore goalkeeper Jack Kasin shut out the goal for the rest of the half.
“Our back line played really good. We played really connected. We were communicating a lot, and just doing a great job getting the balls out, defending the balls, trying to find the midfielders and attackers,” Jack said.
Archie Williams sophomore midfielder Charlie Hinkelman helped control the middle of the field the whole game and connected balls from the back line to the forwards.
“I think we could’ve stayed more calm in the second half. I felt that we were frantic and didn’t know what to do in the different scenarios which made the game feel more amped up than it should have been,” Charlie said.
After ending the second half in a tie, the game went into overtime. Both teams equally possessed the ball, and were motivated to win with the golden goal. Three minutes into overtime, Willy played the ball to senior midfielder Jackson Richardson, who drove towards the goal and scored the golden goal, winning the game 2-1.
“What went well was our mindset. We kept it positive the whole time and worked hard the entire game,” Jackson said.
Falcons head coach Rene Ayala emphasized the importance of defense in Archie Williams’ victory against the Cardinals.
“I think that our defense was outstanding. They forced us into a shell the first half, and by helping each other out on defense we would exploit spaces that we were leaving behind on the counters and I think that’s how we got our first goal,” Ayala said.
Following their victory, the Falcons now look to defeat the Granada High School Matadors Feb. 28 at Granada High School for the NCS finals.
