Falcons hang on for excruciating playoff win

Falcons hang on for excruciating playoff win

After scoring three quick goals in the first half of play, the Folsom Lake Falcons hung on for dear life before pulling out a 3-2 victory over Feather River in the opening round of the CCCAA state playoffs on Saturday evening at Falcon Stadium.  The #3 seeded Falcons looked very worthy of their lofty seeding early on, with a goal in the 8th minute on a header by freshman Kameron Kascht, assisted by Abraham Iniguez.   A Feather River foul in the goal box 10 minutes later led to a PK goal by Omar Ramirez.   Just 10 minutes after that, sophomore Pablo Herrera sent a low shot past the Eagles' keeper for a 3-0 lead.  At this point, the Falcons looked unstoppable as they huddled during the halftime break.  The #14 seeded Golden Eagles did not fold, however, and scored 10 minutes into the second half, a goal that clearly boosted their spirits.  Playing with more confidence now, the momentum had shifted to the Eagles' side.  With another Feather River goal in the 78th minute, it was clear that the final 12+ minutes would be frantic.  Clinging to a 3-2 lead, the Falcons sent the ball deep at every opportunity trying to slow the Eagles' attack.  As time wound down and the Eagles got more desperate, the pace got frenetic.  The Eagles even pulled their goalie to help on two successive corner kicks, both of which resulted in great saves by Falcon keeper Arman Salimi.  When the final whistle finally blew, a collective sigh of relief could be heard from all the Falcon followers. 

With their first ever playoff victory (they'd lost in the opening round each of the last two years), the Falcons improved to 13-5-5 overall and hope to add another win to that record when they host #11 seed (and Big 8 Conference foe) Delta College (12-6-4) in playoff round 2 at Falcon Stadium (where the Falcons are 11-0-2 in 2019) on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 pm.