Falcons hold off ARC, 2-1
The Folsom Lake and American River men's soccer teams had Tuesday night circled on their calendars ever since the Falcons defeated the Beavers 1-0 - on a penalty kick in the 85th minute! - four weeks ago at ARC. The steady drizzle and wet field were a perfect setting for another intense match between these two district rivals. The Falcons started strong and capitalized on a Beaver miscue with a goal by Jesus Duran (assist by Kameron Kascht) in just the 6th minute. The Beavers eventually made some adjustments and began to pressure the Falcon defense later in the first half, finally resulting in a Beaver goal in the 35th minute that tied the score at 1-1. The second half was even more intense, with the rain falling and the ball picking up speed as it skipped across the turf. Falcon leading scorer Kameron Kascht made amends for an earlier whiff on a breakaway with his tie-breaking goal in the 73rd minute, and the ensuing Falcon celebration spoke volumes about the importance of this match. The final 10 minutes were a blur; the Beavers pushed the pace to the limit in an effort to get the tying goal while the Falcons tried stalling as much as they could get away with. The final whistle set off a wet and loud Falcon celebration!
The Falcons (12-2-5 overall, 6-2-1 in Big 8) will play their finale Big 8 match on Friday afternoon against Delta (5-11-5 overall, 2-5-2 in Big 8) at 3:00 pm at FLC.