Last night both Spartan teams had important conference games against the Blake Bears. The Girls were taking on their main rival from the past couple of years in what was bound to be a thriller of a match. The boys instead were looking to gain momentum heading into sections after a tough loss on Saturday.
When I arrived with the team for my game the girls had around 20 minutes left in the second half and were down 1-0. I was told that they had gotten scored on in the first half and had been trying very hard to equalize ever since. You could tell the girls really wanted it and would do anything to tie this game against their bitter rivals. The game would decide who won the conference and which of the two teams would get a higher seed in sections. The girls continued to fight and with about five minutes left in the game, still trailing 1-0 and just when it seemed like it was all over, senior captain Anya Moradian tied the game on a header off a corner kick. The half ended 1-1 and for the second time in four days the Spartan girls would be headed to overtime. The first overtime started off fairly well for the Spartans who had a chance to go up 2-1 against the Bears on a powerful Nina Perkkio volley that hit the outer side netting. With little to go before the half, the Blake girls worked a counter attack that finished with them scoring the go-ahead goal. The first half of extra time ended with the Bears up, however the Spartan girls had not given up and still believed they could pull it off. The second half of extra time began were the first one left off however as the Blake girls scored to go up 3-1. At that point, even when it seemed to be good night Spartans, the girls fought back and gained a penalty kick. Junior Amanda Hotvedt took the responsibility of the kick and buried it into the back of the Blake net. The Spartans now down 2-3 had new momentum and began to fight for the victory, however there was simply not enough time left, Blake won 3-2. A very tough loss for the girls (their first in single A play this season)but one that can surely be avenged in the section playoffs in the next couple of weeks. As hard as this one is to digest, it should make the girls even hungrier to win sections. A congratulations for all the hard work that the girls showed.
Right after the girls game finished, the boys took the field looking too bring one back for the Spartans. Under the lights during a beautiful fall evening, the game began slowly for the Spartans who did not attack much during the first ten minutes. After that however the game picked up a good pace but the Spartans were not able to put the ball into the net. Newly returned goalkeeper Matty "ICE" Fiedler made a few good looking saves for the Spartans in the first half. James "HarG Knock Life" Hargrens had what may arguably be his best game of the season by playing solid defense, never allowing his opponent to even think about beating him. The end of the first half also saw the return of Josh "Slim Shady" Gray after having misssed five straight games due to a leg muscle injury. Gray seemed a little slower than usual, but his touch was as beautiful as ever when he cut past a Blake defender and almost put it past the keeper to give the Spartans a lead. The half ended with a score of 0-0, it was still anybody's game.
At the half the Interim Head Coach Max Lipest told his boys about playing simple and going out to score 5 goals. The Spartans took the message to heart and began playing an attacking style that gave the Bears very little room to breathe. After about 7 minutes, Senior Captain Ryan "Giggles" Hobert received a ball behind the half way line and began to dribble up the pitch. Hobert saw that there was nobody there to close in on him and so he continued all the way to the edge of the other box, were after a couple of fakes released a low left-footed shot into the right corner of the net for his 3rd goal of the season. The Spartans were up 1-0 now with Hobert's goal forcing all the momentum to switch their way. Shortly thereafter Ben "the Good German" Kachian made a pass to Slim Shady Gray down the left hand wing who faked a cross, cut inside and struck the ball with the inside of his foot to the opposite corner of the goal. 2-0 Spartans. After having been nagged by injuries for the majority of the season, this was the best way for Gray to make a statement in his return, a truly emotional return. A few minutes after that Lorenzo "Cappucino" Pavoloni made sure to give the Spartans some more of his caffeine so they would not start to doze off, with a wonder strike from the edge of the box. Pavoloni hit a ball with great power and finesse that dipped over the goalkeeper to give the Spartans a commanding lead. He seems to always score fantastic goals in great moments, a true striker. Pavoloni would go on to score again and the end of the game would see Sam Forsgren come back to his goal scoring ways by netting two goals to bring his tally to 32 on the season. The Spartans closed the game out 6-1 and will look to finish the regular season strongly on Thursday against Minnehaha.
Thursday will also see the girls play Minnehaha Academy as they look to gain momentum heading into the section playoffs.
The main event on the Thursday however will be after the two soccer games and it will once again be at Blake (Part 2). The Spartan football team will be looking for their first win of the season against their biggest rivals. The game is celebrating 100 YEARS of SPA VS BLAKE football and it is sure to be very entertaining. There will be an electric atmosphere and it is sure to be a special night for the Spartans who have been putting in plenty of hard work all season for this night. The game will see the return of QB Andrew Bradley who has been out since the first game of the season with a broken fibula. All Spartan students should wear white, we are going for a white out and you don't want to be the only kid out of 200+ that is wearing purple.
Good Luck to all three Spartan teams tomorrow and especially to the football team.
Go Spartans!
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