Men Lose a Tough One at Merritt
In Oakland, the FLC men found themselves in a 0-0 tie through the first half of their game. But in the 47th minute, after what appeared to be an uncalled offside, a scramble in the goal box led to a deflection off an unidentified Falcon that resulted in a Merritt goal. The Falcons responded 15 minutes later when Alex Rotaru's pass found Trevor Lanthier, who curled a beautiful shot over the goalkeeper to tie the score. With their confidence rising, the Falcons kept pushing while playing some of their best soccer of the season. With both teams fighting for a winning goal, the Falcons' worst nightmare happened when the Merritt outside forward drilled a crossing pass that clipped the back of FLC defender Richard James' leg and bounded into the net. The "own goal" was a heartbreaker that turned out to be the difference in the game. "I felt like we played perhaps our best game of the season," said FLC coach Martin Roberts. "We played terrific defense and passed the ball well. The only negative was the final score." The loss dropped the Falcons' overall record to 2-11-3 and 1-4-2 in the BVC. The Falcons remain in sixth place, just two points behind fifth-place Napa.