This past Saturday, the boys JV soccer team had the closest game of its young season against the Falcons. The boys started off the game dominating possession of the ball due to the fact that West Catholic was only playing with ten men on the field. The boys were able to create countless chances, and their first goal happened midway through the first half when freshman center back Matthew Taylor was able to crash on a loose ball and chest it past the Falcons goalkeeper, putting the Rangers up 1-0.

Following that goal, the Rangers took all the momentum and with just five minutes remaining in the half, an error from the Falcons backline led to freshman striker Jackson Savin capitalizing to put the boys up 2-0 going into the half.

To start the second half, the boys’ plan was to try and bury their opponent from the start; however, due to a defensive miscue halfway through the second half, a Falcon forward broke through on goal and was able to score, bringing West Catholic right back into the game. Following that goal, the Falcons started to play with some urgency that the Rangers had lost, and the boys were on their heels defensively.

As the Rangers were trying to clear the ball out of their defensive third, the Falcons won themselves a dangerous free-kick just outside the box. West Catholic’s striker proceeded to step up and put the shot off the crossbar, bouncing down into the net to tie the game at 2-2 with just over five minutes to play. In an immediate response following the goal, the Rangers had found their urgency again and went on the attack right away. The FHC offense was able to place the ball right behind the Falcons defense, where Jackson Savin hit a screamer past the Falcon goalkeeper, winning the Rangers the game 3-2.  

With the Rangers on a three-game winning streak, this brings their regular season record to 3-2 and their conference record to 2-2. The boys continue their conference play this upcoming Tuesday, September 22 against the Byron Center Bulldogs.